!  MAY  20  191, t) 

Division  C 'id  7 S 

Section  „X>76 


Camfcrfljge  3  ttfjaeo  logical  aitii  (©tfmologtcal  Scries 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL 

EXCAVATION 


The  Cambridge  Archaeological  and  Ethnological 
Series  is  supervised  by  an  Editorial  Committee  consisting 
of  M.  R.  James ,  Litt.D .,  EE. A.,  Provost  of  King s 
College ,  P.  Giles ,  Litt.D .,  Master  of  Emmanuel  College , 
^4.  C.  H addon,  Sc.D.y  ER.S University  Reader  in 
Ethnology ,  William  Ridgeway ;  Sc.D.,  F.B.A.,  Disney 
Professor  of  Archaeology,  E.J.  Raps  on,  M.A.,  Professor 
of  Sanskrit ,  and  W.  H.  R.  Rivers,  M.A.,  F.R.S., 
University  Lecturer  in  Physiology  of  the  Senses. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL 

EXCAVATION 


BY 

J.  P.  DROOP,  M.A. 


Late  Student  of  the  British  School  at  Athens 


Cambridge : 

at  the  University  Press 

*9*5 


CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
C.  F.  CLAY,  Manager 
Hontran:  FETTER  LANE,  E.C. 
3£$mtrargJ):  100  PRINCES  STREET 


#cfo  iiorfe:  G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 
33otttfmg,  (Calcutta  anti  fflatiras:  MACMILLAN  AND  Co.,  Ltd. 
CTcronto :  J.  M.  DENT  AND  SONS,  Ltd. 

SIT ohjjo :  THE  MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 


All  rights  reserved 


To 

R.  M.  DAWKINS 


£<  all-sagacious  in  our  art, 
Breeder  in  me  of  what  poor  skill  I  boast.” 


«  3 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/archaeologicalex00droo_0 


INTRODUCTION 


HE  time  has  perhaps  gone  by  when  it  was 


X  necessary,  if  it  ever  were,  to  put  forward  a 
defence  of  the  pleasant  practice  of  digging,  a 
defence  of  it,  that  is  to  say,  not  as  a  harmless 
recreation  of  the  idle  rich,  but  as  a  serious  business 
for  a  reasonable  man.  In  all  ages  the  maker  of 
history  and  the  recorder  of  history  have  alike 
received  due  honour.  To-day  a  place  is  found, 
not  equal,  of  course,  in  glory  but  in  the  same 
hierarchy,  for  the  reverent  discoverer  of  the  dry 
bones  of  history;  and  on  Clio's  roll  of  honour 
next  to  Homer  and  Agamemnon  there  is  now  a 
place  for  Schliemann. 

In  the  last  forty  years  excavation  has  been 
carried  on  very  extensively  in  Italy,  in  Greece, 
and  in  Egypt,  to  say  nothing  of  the  work  that  has 
been  done  in  the  more  northern  countries  of 
Europe,  or  in  fields  further  to  the  east;  and  the 
time  has  come  when  it  may  be  of  some  interest 
to  set  forth  the  principles  that  have  been,  or  at 
least  should  have  been,  the  basis  of  the  work. 

The  reservation  must  be  made ;  for  in  Greece, 
at  least,  and  in  Egypt  it  was  unavoidably,  but  none 
the  less  deplorably,  the  case  that  the  great  men  of 
the  past  lacked  the  experience  that  is  now  ours. 
Excavation,  like  surgery,  is  an  art,  but,  unlike  the 
surgeon,  the  excavator  has  no  unlimited  supply  of 


Vlll 


INTRODUCTION 


new  subjects  ready  to  benefit  by  his  growing  skill. 
The  number  of  sites  that  have  been  spoiled  will 
not  bear  thinking  of,  sites  that  bring  a  vicarious 
remorse  to  the  mind  that  remembers  by  what 
ignorance  they  were  very  lovingly  but  very  shame¬ 
fully  mishandled,  so  that  their  secrets,  instead  of 
being  gathered  up,  were  spilled  and  lost.  The  pity 
of  it  is  that  in  the  old  days  excavation  was  not 
recognised  as  an  art;  the  excavator  took  a  spade 
and  dug  and  what  he  found  he  found ;  what  could 
be  more  simple  or  more  satisfying?  To-day  he 
knows,  or  should  know,  for  the  reservation  is 
again  necessary,  that  what  he  finds  is  not  more 
important  than  the  conditions  in  which  he  finds  it. 
On  the  old  plan  it  is  as  if  a  man  were  shown  the 
symbols  ( a  +  b)  (a  —  b)  and,  when  asked  what  he 
saw,  replied :  a  -f-  b  and  a  —  b.  There  is  no  inten¬ 
tion  here  of  suggesting  that  all  the  great  men  of 
the  past  were  fools  and  that  wisdom  has  been 
reserved  for  the  present  generation;  far  from  it, 
but  in  a  business  in  which  accumulated  experience 
joined  with  common  sense  carries  a  man  three- 
quarters  of  the  way  the  results  in  the  days  of 
no  experience  were  of  necessity  much  as  if  it  had 
been  so. 

The  writer's  training  has  been  entirely  gained 
in  Greek  lands,  with  the  addition  of  one  season  in 
Egypt,  so  that  any  illustrations  with  which  he 
may  point  his  remarks  must  be  drawn  from  a  com¬ 
paratively  narrow  field,  but  he  believes  that  the 
broad  principles  that  should  underlie  archaeological 
excavation  do  not  vary  with  locality,  and  this  all 
the  more  because  one  of  them  is  that  the  nature 


INTRODUCTION 


IX 


of  every  site  must  be  taken  into  careful  considera¬ 
tion  before  any  lessons  can  be  safely  drawn  from 
the  yield  of  the  work. 

From  the  stress  laid  in  the  following  pages 
upon  stratification  the  reader  might  be  excused 
for  thinking  that  all  sites  have  been  stratified  by 
past  generations  with  a  nice  comprehension  of  the 
needs  of  the  excavator.  Unfortunately  it  is  not 
so.  Many  sites  show  no  strata  and  in  many  more 
the  strata  that  once  existed  have  been  destroyed 
by  rash  digging  for  foundations  or  by  other  baleful 
activities,  though  ancient  builders  were  not  so 
criminal  as  their  modern  successors.  But  because 
where  strata  do  not  exist  digging  is  easy,  and 
because  where  strata  do  exist  digging  is  most 
difficult  and  the  results  of  digging  most  fruitful 
in  knowledge,  I  believe  that  to  be  able  to  dig  a 
stratified  site  well  is  to  have  attained  to  the 
highest  and  most  remunerative  skill  in  this  parti¬ 
cular  work;  therefore  I  make  no  apology  for 
laying  stress  on  the  importance  of  stratification; 
its  presence  should  always  be  assumed  until  the 
worst  is  known,  for  no  scientific  harm  is  done  by 
the  assumption  and  much  may  be  saved.  It  need 
hardly  be  said  that  this  refers  only  to  the  process 
of  digging,  not  to  the  subsequent  study  of  the 
finds ;  for  the  man  who  worked  out  his  results  on 
the  assumption  that  his  finds  must  have  been 
stratified  would  soon  make  a  great,  but  not  an 
enviable,  name.  The  fact  is,  of  course,  easy  to 
ascertain  as  the  excavation  proceeds,  chiefly  by 
the  consistency  or  otherwise  of  the  results;  con¬ 
sistency  is  the  main  point,  and  too  much  faith 


X 


INTRODUCTION 


should  never  be  given  to  isolated  phenomena,  even 
if  not  contradicted,  for  nothing  is  more  necessary 
to  remember  than  that  any  individual  object  or 
set  of  objects  may  have  got  out  of  place.  One 
or  two  iron  knife-blades  were  found  mixed  with 
the  Middle  Minoan  pottery  at  the  cave  above 
Kamares,  yet  we  forbore  to  proclaim  to  the  world 
that  the  Middle  Minoans  were  an  iron-using 
people;  there,  however,  there  was  no  stratifica¬ 
tion  to  be  contaminated,  but  sometimes  the  most 
scandalous  finds  turn  up;  a  mediaeval  coin,  for 
instance,  has  been  known  to  try  to  compromise 
the  purest  of  neolithic  deposits. 

This  essay  has  been  written  with  the  idea  chiefly 
of  entertaining  the  many  who  by  their  interest  and 
subscriptions  have  helped  in  the  work  of  recovering 
the  past,  and  partly  in  the  hope  that,  if  it  makes 
even  slightly  for  the  accomplishment  of  better 
work  in  the  future,  it  may  not  have  been  written 
in  vain ;  and  the  writer  has  dared  to  put  his  views 
with  the  more  freedom  because  he  has  never  been 
in  charge  of  an  excavation,  and  therefore  need  not 
fear  the  reproach  that  what  he  preaches  he  did  not 
practise. 

Lastly — at  the  present  time  such  a  book  as 
this  should  not  appear  without  an  apology  for 
its  impertinence ;  yet  this  will  perhaps  seem  less 
gross  to  those  who  look  confidently  to  a  future  in 
which  we  shall  be  free  once  more  to  care  about 
the  past. 

J.  P.  D. 

London. 

August  1915. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Introduction  . 

•  •  • 

vii 

CHAP. 

I 

General  . 

«  •  • 

I 

II 

Particular 

•  •  • 

7 

III 

Qualifications 

•  •  • 

34 

IV 

The  outfit  and 

ITS  USE 

39 

V 

Some  questions 

OF  MORALITY 

5i 

VI 

Publication  . 

58 

VII 

Epilogue 

63 

Appendix  A  . 

65 

B  . 

68 

c  . 

70 

D  . 

73 

„  E  . 

75 

Index 

78 

FIGURES 

FIG. 


—3. 

Specimen  sketches  of  Stratification  . 

18 

4- 

The  use  of  the  Dumpy  Level  . 

66 

5- 

The  use  of  the  Dumpy  Level  . 

6  7 

6. 

Specimen  plan  showing  measurements 

needed . 

69 

7- 

Plan  and  section  to  illustrate  graphic 

publication . 

7i 

8. 

Section  to  show  how  the  date  of  a 
building  relative  to  the  surrounding 
deposits  can  be  inferred  from  their 

positions . 

75 

CHAPTER  I 


GENERAL 

The  archaeologist's  general  aim  on  approaching 
a  new  site  should  be  to  draw  from  it  all  the  know¬ 
ledge  that  he  can,  to  unearth  as  complete  a  skeleton 
as  possible  of  the  history  of  that  particular  spot 
during  the  period  when  it  was  a  human  habitation. 
Unless  that  period  belongs  to  times  when  men  wrote 
what  can  now  be  read,  he  can  hardly  hope  to 
uncover  perfect  history,  but  the  more  complete 
the  dry  bones  that  he  lays  bare  the  better  the 
chance  that  they  will  rise  again  as  history  when 
imagination  shall  have  prophesied  to  them. 

Therefore  the  excavator's  sympathies  should  be 
as  wide  as  possible,  and  nothing  that  he  finds 
should  meet  with  his  neglect  because  it  is  not  just 
what  he  is  looking  for.  This  sounds  obvious  and 
most  unnecessary  to  be  said,  yet,  to  take  but  one 
instance  of  a  breach  of  this  rule,  there  are  to-day 
archaeologists  with  well-known  names  who  will  dig 
a  site  only  for  its  inscriptions,  paying  no  attention 
to  other  and  in  their  eyes  lesser  finds.  This  is  a 
double  crime,  a  crime  against  the  actual  neglected 
finds  and  a  crime  against  the  site  and  its  possible 
treasures  yet  unfound.  It  should  always  be  re¬ 
membered  that  in  general  a  site  cannot  be  touched 
and  left  without  irreparable  damage,  and  that 
there  can  hardly  be  a  worse  sin  for  an  excavator 


D. 


i 


2 


GENERAL 


[CH. 


than  having  attacked  a  site  to  leave  the  part 
begun  unfinished.  Yet  this  is  likely  to  be  the 
result  of  an  interest  that  is  insufficiently  catholic. 

It  is  a  lesser  evil,  but  I  think  generally  a 
mistake,  even  to  leave  a  separate  part  of  a  site 
for  operations  in  the  indefinite  future,  unless  the 
circumstances  are  very  favourable  and  there  is 
definite  reason  to  think  the  course  beneficial. 
There  are  I  think  two  reasons  against  it.  In  the 
first  place,  there  is  the  great  importance  of 
establishing  the  relative  positions  of  the  things 
found  and  the  fact  that  it  is  never  very  easy  to 
settle  accurately  the  relations  between  old  and 
new.  And  secondly  to  begin  a  site  and  to  leave 
it  diminishes  the  potential  interest  of  the  part 
undug,  and  lessens  the  chances  of  the  work's  ever 
being  finished  unless  a  particular  set  of  circum¬ 
stances  should  again  direct  attention  to  the  place. 
It  is  however  only  fair  to  mention  one  instance 
(Phylakopi  in  the  island  of  Melos  excavated  1896- 
1898  and  again  1911)  where  this  practice  was  in 
the  result  very  beneficial.  The  circumstances  were 
however  particularly  favourable,  for  it  was  a  town 
site  and  the  undug  portion  was  neatly  partitioned 
off  by  the  walls  of  the  houses.  The  advantages  of 
the  supplementary  dig  were  due  to  the  knowledge 
of  Cretan  pottery  gained  in  the  interval,  which 
knowledge  made  the  study  of  the  finds  easier.  All 
the  same  had  the  first  excavation  been  the  ideal 
piece  of  work  that  we  never  hope  to  see  there 
would  have  been  no  need  of  a  second. 

I  am  not,  of  course,  arguing  that  an  unpro¬ 
ductive  site  should  be  dug  to  the  bitter  end. 


I] 


GENERAL 


3 


That  were  to  ask  too  much  of  human  nature. 
Moreover  in  such  a  case  the  presumption  would 
be  that  there  is  nothing  there  to  be  damaged  by 
abandonment. 

To  resume,  in  theory  nothing  that  is  found  is 
without  interest  and  everything  should  be  dealt 
with.  For  many  facts  that  appear  to  have  no 
interest  at  the  time  may  become  of  first-rate 
importance  in  the  future  through  the  discovery  of 
similar  facts  elsewhere.  The  same  excavation  of 
Phylakopi  gives  an  example  in  the  case  of  the 
so-called  “Minyan”  ware.  At  the  time  of  the  first 
excavation  this  ware  was  practically  unknown  and 
received  a  bare  mention  in  the  publication,  though 
the  results  of  the  second  excavation  suggest  that 
it  must  have  been  found  in  considerable  quantities. 
This  was  no  doubt  due  to  its  apparent  inferiority 
of  interest  where  so  much  was  new  and  of  first- 
rate  importance.  By  a  piece  of  good  fortune  the 
second  excavation  in  1911  was  able  to  supplement 
the  first,  and  to  find  out  several  points  vital  to 
the  history  of  this  ware,  which  but  for  this  chance 
might  have  been  lost  entirely  owing  to  the  former 
omission  to  put  them  on  record.  I  do  not  wish  to 
say  anything  in  disparagement  of  the  treatment  of 
the  pottery  at  the  earlier  excavation,  still  less  to 
appear  to  patronise  it,  but  my  comment  on  it  will 
lead  up  to  the  next  point  that  I  wish  to  make. 
It  was  a  very  good  piece  of  work  indeed  but  it  was 
not  ideal  (if  it  had  been  there  would  have  been 
little  need  of  the  second  excavation,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  new  knowledge  of  Cretan  pottery 
acquired  in  the  interval),  and  the  chief  reason 


4 


GENERAL 


[CH. 


why  it  was  not  ideal  was  that  there  was  too  much 
material  for  one  man  to  deal  with  really  adequately. 
My  impression  of  the  whole  of  that  first  excavation, 
on  which  three  seasons  were  spent,  is  that  the 
excavators  cleared  too  much  of  the  town  in  the 
time,  they  went  too  fast  and  were  swamped  by 
their  material. 

The  staff  should  be  adequate  and  the  work 
should  not  proceed  too  fast.  Naturally  these  two 
factors,  the  speed  of  the  work  and  the  numbers  of 
the  staff,  are  interdependent.  No  excavation  can 
be  really  well  done  if  it  is  not  possible  to  keep 
abreast  of  the  finds, that  is  to  say,  to  ascertain  pretty 
well  what  is  being  found  as  the  work  proceeds. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  days  are  over  when 
extensive  digs  were  carried  on  by  one  or  two  men, 
the  days  when  it  was  possible  without  shame  and 
only  partly  in  jest  to  say  that  one  of  the  charms 
of  winter  work  in  the  museum  was  the  rediscovery 
of  what  had  been  found  at  the  excavation — the 
days,  in  fine,  when  a  spirit  of  madness  was  abroad 
that  actually  led  men  to  adopt  and  act  on  the 
following  creed:  “ Wherever  it  is  feasible,  the 
employment  of  large  gangs  of  men  is  more  eco¬ 
nomical  and  more  conducive  to  accurate  archaeo¬ 
logical  observation,  than  the  employment  of  smaller 
numbers  of  men  spread  over  a  longer  period  of 
time.  The  manner,  for  instance,  in  which  the 

various  archaeological  stratifications . present 

themselves  in  rapid  and  organic  succession  to  the 
eye  of  the  student,  when  work  is  carried  on  on  a 
large  scale,  adds  a  quality  to  the  mode  of  observa¬ 
tion  which  cannot  readily  be  supplied  when  work 


I] 


GENERAL 


5 


is  less  compressed  in  time .”  The  last  sentence  is 
perfectly  true  but  the  name  of  that  quality  is 
confusion. 

I  hope  and  believe  that  those  days  are  over; 
yet  many  excavations  must  depend  unfortunately 
too  much  on  the  support  of  public  subscriptions, 
so  that  the  temptation  is  strong  to  widen  the  scope 
of  the  work  in  order  that  the  increased  results  may 
keep  alive  the  interest  of  subscribers;  on  a  pro¬ 
ductive  site  the  tendency  should  be  checked, 
because  it  will  always  lead  to  a  passing  of  the 
limits  beyond  which  the  wTork  loses  in  efficiency, 
will  always  lead  in  fact  to  the  process  known  by 
the  expressive  name  of  "hogging/'  The  need  of 
an  adequate  staff  applies  equally  to  the  subsequent 
study  of  the  finds  in  the  museum.  Every  effort 
should  be  made  to  get  such  study  and  the  publica¬ 
tion  of  its  results  done  as  quickly  as  possible 
without  loss  of  thoroughness.  In  the  case  of  work 
depending  for  its  support  on  public  interest  this  is 
obvious  common  sense,  but  apart  from  that,  loss  of 
time  means  definite  loss  shown  in  the  results, 
definite  loss  of  knowledge.  For  in  this  imperfect 
world  with  the  passage  of  time  comes  the  mislaying 
and  shifting  of  labels,  and  the  most  perfect  notes 
become  less  intelligible  when  the  memory  of  the 
context  that  should  illumine  them  has  faded.  The 
initiated  could  point  to  several  great  excavations 
which  are  believed  to  have  suffered  much  through 
being  dealt  with  subsequently  by  too  small  a  staff. 
All  this,  like  most  things  connected  with  my 
subject,  is  common  sense.  Any  work  to  be  done 
efficiently  needs  an  adequate  staff.  The  too 


6 


GENERAL 


[CH.  I 


frequent  neglect  of  this  point  in  past  archaeology 
either  points  to  personal  selfishness  in  high  places 
or  merely  goes  to  show  that  it  was  not  yet  recog¬ 
nised  that  there  are  two  ways  of  conducting  an 
excavation.  Finally  it  is  clear  that  the  best  way 
of  ensuring  enough  helpers  in  the  museum  is  to 
have  enough  on  the  dig ;  not  only  will  their 
interest  be  engaged  so  that  they  will  be  eager  to 
assist  in  the  work  of  publication,  but  other  things 
being  equal  that  work  will  be  better  done  by  the 
men  who  saw  all  the  conditions  of  the  finding. 

The  last  general  principle  to  be  mentioned  has 
again  no  peculiar  application  to  archaeology.  It 
is  the  need  for  good  organisation,  necessary  in 
arranging  the  actual  work  of  digging  and  still 
more  necessary  in  dealing  with  the  finds. 

For  the  excavator  of  a  productive  site  is  much  in 
the  position  of  a  general  in  the  field  who  is  receiving 
a  constant  stream  of  fresh  troops.  In  both  cases 
the  arrivals  are  very  welcome,  but  without  proper 
organisation  the  result  is  disastrous  confusion. 

Thus  the  man  who  means  to  undertake  a  dig 
should  know  the  necessity  of  having  an  interest  as 
catholic  as  possible,  and  besides  a  sense  of  duty  to 
his  finds,  whether  they  happen  to  stir  his  interest 
or  not,  of  realising  the  calls  that  the  site  will  make 
on  his  resources,  and  of  holding  his  hand  if  he  feels 
that  they  will  be  such  as  in  the  future  he  may  not 
be  able  to  honour,  of  securing  enough  helpers  both 
during  and  after  the  excavation,  and  lastly  of  never 
allowing  his  natural  human  eagerness  to  tempt  him 
to  go  so  fast  as  to  risk  the  breakdown  of  his 
organisation. 


CHAPTER  II 


PARTICULAR 

A.  Digging. 

General  principles  it  is  easy  enough  to  state, 
but  the  matter  is  not  so  simple  when  it  comes  to 
the  particular  question,  By  what  means  are  ob¬ 
jects  best  found  and  made  to  yield  up  their  story  ? 
The  answer  comes  in  the  form  of  another  principle 
nearly  as  general  as  its  predecessors.  An  excava¬ 
tion  should  be  so  conducted  that  it  would  be 
possible  in  theor}/  to  build  up  the  site  again  with 
every  object  replaced  exactly  in  its  original  posi¬ 
tion.  For  it  is  not  until  after  excavation  has 
disclosed  fully  what  may  be  called  the  geological 
nature  of  the  site,  the  original  contours  of  the 
virgin  soil,  and  the  source  and  order  of  the  subse¬ 
quent  accumulations,  that  reasoned  conclusions 
can  be  formed  as  to  the  history  of  the  objects 
found ;  and  these  conclusions  cannot  be  formed,  or 
at  least  cannot  be  formed  with  the  same  certainty, 
if  the  relations  of  the  individual  finds  either  with 
one  another  or  with  the  geological  conditions  are 
not  accurately  known.  Should  the  objects  have 
been  taken  out  in  a  higgledy-piggledy  manner  no 
subsequent  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  accu¬ 
mulations  will  be  of  much  avail,  and  instead  of 


8 


PARTICULAR 


[CH. 


having  evidence  from  stratification  the  student 
will  be  reduced  to  evidence  from  style.  And  this 
may  mean  that  all  that  he  can  say  with  certainty 
about  the  site  will  be  the  fruit  of  his  previous 
knowledge.  I  say  that  the  student  will  be  reduced 
to  the  evidence  from  style,  using  the  verb  delibe¬ 
rately  as  implying  a  natural  inferiority  inherent  in 
that  kind  of  evidence.  As  an  excavator  I  wish  to 
insist  on  this  point  because  we  are  engaged  in 
upsetting  the  old  gods,  and  we  still  have  to  fight 
for  our  new  creed ;  for  as  yet  there  have  not  been 
enough  good  stratified  sites  properly  dug  to  carry 
its  truth  into  universal  acceptance.  Men  are  con¬ 
servative  in  their  religions,  and  the  habit  of 
offering  incense  on  the  altar  of  style  is  of  very  old 
origin;  since  collectors  existed  long  before  the 
scientific  excavator,  and  have  long  been  forming 
conclusions  about  their  possessions  by  the  only 
means  open  to  them ;  consequently  the  new  truth 
has  a  formidable  antagonist  in  the  old  habit  of 
mind,  particularly  with  those  to  whom  the  facts 
of  an  excavation  are  unfamiliar.  It  behoves  me 
therefore  to  set  it  down  as  plainly  as  I  can  that, 
when  the  evidence  from  excavation,  the  evidence, 
that  is,  for  the  chronology  of  a  set  of  objects 
founded  on  a  mass  of  observations  as  to  how  they 
lay,  comes  as  may  happen  into  conflict  with  the 
views  on  the  subject  derived  from  a  study  of  the 
style  of  those  objects,  by  tracing  their  probable 
development  from  one  stage  to  another  with  the 
support  of  wide-drawn  analogies — when  these  two 
radically  different  kinds  of  evidence  come  into 
conflict  the  opposed  forces  are  not  equal ;  it  is  not 


II] 


PARTICULAR 


9 


permitted  us  to  say  that  the  two  discrepant 
witnesses  exactly  balance  one  another,  so  that  we 
must  reserve  an  open  mind.  The  truth  is  that 
the  two  kinds  of  evidence  are  so  far  from  balancing 
that  the  stylistic  conclusions  formed  perhaps  on 
a  priori  grounds  and  to  a  large  extent  subjective 
must  be  outweighed  by  those  attested  by  the  hard 
facts  of  observed  stratification;  for  men  may  be 
mistaken  in  their  views  on  the  development  of 
form  and  ornament,  but  to  discredit  in  favour  of 
these  the  evidence  of  a  good  piece  of  stratification 
observed  by  competent  persons  is  to  abandon  the 
scientific  attitude  and  to  proclaim  a  real  faith 
vigorous  and  impregnable  before  the  assaults  of 
reason. 

I  would  not  however  be  understood  to  give 
less  than  their  value  to  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn 
from  a  wide  study  of  style  when  better  evidence  is 
not  to  be  had :  I  believe  indeed  that  such  a 
conflict  as  I  have  indicated  would  be  rare,  and 
that  in  most  cases  where  excavation  has  been  able 
to  form  a  check  the  conclusions  from  both  sources 
have  been  found  to  tally.  Yet  one  such  conflict 
can  be  found  (if  I  may  be  allowed  the  egotism  of 
calling  attention  to  a  piece  of  work  in  which  I  had 
a  share),  in  two  papers  dealing  with  the  “  Cyrenaic ” 
vases  that  are  scattered  through  the  museums  of 
Europe1.  Both  these  papers  attempted  a  chrono¬ 
logical  classification  of  the  vases  in  question,  and 
they  will  be  found  by  the  curious  to  differ  widely. 
M.  Dugas’  paper  was  much  the  more  skilful  piece 

1  Dugas,  Rev.  Arch.  1907,  Tom.  ix,  p.  403;  Droop,  J.  H.  S. 
xxx,  p.  1. 


io  PARTICULAR  [CH. 

of  work,  for  he  had  nothing  to  go  on  but  the 
sharpness  of  his  eyesight  and  a  wide  knowledge  of 
the  development  of  vase-painting  elsewhere;  my 
classification,  on  the  other  hand,  needed  only  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  one  set  of  vases, 
namely  the  large  and  very  well  stratified  mass  of 
fragments  of  the  same  ceramic  fabric  that  we  were 
lucky  enough  to  find  at  Sparta  just  after  M.  Dugas 
had  written  his  paper;  the  whole  history  of  the 
ware  was  there  before  me  divided  into  its  stages 
by  the  stratification,  and  all  that  I  had  to  do  with 
the  vases  known  before  was  to  slip  each  into  its 
proper  division.  The  reason  for  the  breakdown  of 
the  argument  from  style  in  this  case  is  not  uninter¬ 
esting.  It  was  not  then  known  that  these  vases 
were  made  in  Laconia  (the  fact  is  not  even  yet 
universally  admitted,  but  they  were) ;  conse¬ 
quently  no  one  had  thought  of  seeing  in  them  the 
peculiar  effects  of  the  Spartan  ideals.  Yet  we  now 
know  that  in  the  eighth  and  early  seventh  centuries 
art  showed  as  fair  a  blossom  at  Sparta  as  anywhere 
else  in  Greece,  but  began  to  wither  there  at  the 
close  of  the  seventh  century  under  the  blight  of 
militarism.  On  the  pottery  the  effect  was  that 
the  style  of  drawing  never  passed  the  archaic 
stage ;  throughout  the  sixth  century  the  work  got 
progressively  worse  and  more  careless,  and  lacked 
the  impulse  to  develop  greater  freedom  so  that  it 
ended  as  archaic  as  it  began;  small  wonder  then 
that  the  most  careful  student  of  style  being  without 
the  key  should  be  deceived  into  placing  very 
careless  and  archaic-looking  work  much  earlier 
than  is  warranted  by  its  fabric,  which  we  now 


PARTICULAR 


II 


II] 

know  to  be  almost  the  only  guide  to  the  dating 
of  the  Laconian  vases.  It  is  due  to  M.  Dugas  to 
say  that  his  prompt  acceptance  of  the  Sparta 
results  shows  him  not  to  be  a  man  to  whom 
evidence  from  excavation  makes  a  weak  appeal. 

Revenons  a  nos  moutons.  The  only  way  by 
which  an  approximation  to  this  desired  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  relative  positions  of  finds  can  be 
reached  is  by  subdivision  of  the  site,  minute  sub¬ 
division  both  vertically  and  horizontally.  The 
limits  of  the  horizontal  subdivisions  are  often  fore¬ 
ordained  by  walls,  but,  if  these  do  not  exist  or  are 
not  close  enough  together,  arbitrary  divisions  must 
be  made.  Vertical  divisions  are  also  sometimes 
provided  ready  to  hand,  as  for  instance  the  floors 
of  a  house.  But  these,  even  should  they  exist, 
are  not  always  easily  detected  in  the  actual  digging 
unless  they  consist  of  stone  slabs  or  cobbles.  It 
is  true  that  afterwards  traces  of  them  can  fre¬ 
quently  be  detected  in  section  in  the  walls,  but 
then  unless  other  steps  have  been  taken  it  might 
be  difficult  to  decide,  however  beautifully  the  order 
of  the  successive  finds  was  preserved,  at  what  point 
in  that  order  the  floor  level  came.  There  is  one 
well-known  excavation  where  such  a  point  always 
remained  in  doubt. 

The  only  way  in  which  the  vertical  relations  of 
the  objects  found  can  be  properly  ascertained  is 
by  using  a  dumpy  level  continually  all  over  the 
site1.  The  method  is  simple  though  laborious. 
The  horizontal  sections  being  marked  out,  the  men 
are  set  to  dig,  and  are  shown  a  depth  to  which 

1  See  Appendix  A. 


12  PARTICULAR  [CH. 

they  should  dig  evenly  over  the  extent  of  their 
section.  The  levels  of  the  top  and  the  bottom  of 
the  section  are  taken  and  are  written,  together 
with  the  horizontal  designation,  on  the  labels 
attached  to  all  finds  from  that  section.  Suppose 
then  that  digging  had  gone  on  in  room  i  of  house  A 
in  a  prehistoric  town,  and  that  subsequently 
remains  of  a  clay  flooring  were  observed  in  the 
sides  of  the  pit,  a  change  of  soil  being  there 
discernible,  although  during  the  actual  digging  it 
had  passed  unnoticed.  The  level  of  it  is  taken 
and  found  to  be  90-35  m.  A  reference  to  the  finds 
shows  one  set  of  objects  from  A 1  90-50 — 90-30  and 
the  next  below  from  A 1  90-31 — 90-09.  This  no 
doubt  is  not  so  satisfactory  as  if  the  floor  had  been 
detected  at  once  and  made  the  bottom  of  a  division 
or  had  by  chance  coincided  with  one,  but  it  is  a 
good  deal  better  than  nothing. 

Of  course,  it  is  not  on  every  site  that  vertical 
divisions  so  small  as  -20  m.  repay  the  trouble : 
often  -50  m.  or  even  more  will  answer  every 
purpose ;  but,  until  trial  has  been  made,  work 
should  always  be  begun  on  the  supposition  that 
minute  subdivision  will  be  necessary  to  catch  all 
changes  in  the  deposits.  The  thickness  of  section 
allowable  is  in  direct  ratio  to  the  rate  at  which 
the  “pay  dirt”  was  deposited;  it  is  clear  for 
example  that  on  the  site  of  a  rich  shrine  the 
deposits  of  votive  offerings  would  be  laid  down 
faster  and  over  a  given  length  of  years  would 
reach  a  greater  thickness  than  at  one  compara¬ 
tively  poor;  wherefore,  the  development  of  style 
and  fashion  in  the  offerings  being  assumed  to  be 


n] 


PARTICULAR 


13 


uniform,  at  a  poor  site  the  changes  due  to  such 
development  would  be  found  closer  together,  in 
other  words  the  strata  would  be  more  compressed, 
so  that  to  make  sure  of  catching  the  different 
stages  of  development  the  vertical  sections  must 
then  be  made  thinner.  Suppose  that  at  a  rich 
site  the  deposits  of  style  A  and  B  each  attained 
the  thickness  of  -50  m.,  sections  of  that  thickness 
might  be  counted  on  to  record  them,  but  at  a 
poor  site  the  same  deposits  might  only  reach  a 
thickness  of  -25  m.  each,  in  which  case  sections  of 
•50  m.  would  be  in  danger  of  showing  A  and  B  as 
contemporaneous ;  there  might  be  suspicion  of  the 
true  state  of  the  case  but  there  would  be  no 
certainty.  The  slower,  then,  the  rate  of  deposit 
the  thinner  must  be  the  sections. 

It  should  be  remarked  here  that  the  use  of  the 
level  does  not  imply  a  hasty  generalisation  that 
what  is  higher  up  must  needs  be  later  in  date  than 
what  is  below.  This  may,  perhaps,  be  found  true 
of  any  particular  pit,  but  it  is  not  to  be  pre¬ 
supposed  even  there,  and  far  less  over  the  whole 
site.  It  is  merely  a  device  for  preserving  the  data 
so  that  after  the  end  of  the  excavation  all  the 
evidence  from  which  to  draw  the  proper  conclusions 
may  be  at  hand.  With  such  an  ideal  it  is  clearly 
important  to  dig  methodically,  taking  off  layer  by 
layer  so  far  as  possible  over  the  whole  of  that  part 
of  the  site  that  is  being  dealt  with  at  one  time, 
though  nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to  prevent 
an  untrained  workman  from  digging  a  hole  instead 
of  taking  an  even  layer  off  the  whole  of  his  section. 
This  point  is  clearly  of  the  first  importance  for 


14  PARTICULAR  [CH. 

establishing  the  position  of  finds  properly,  for  if  it 
is  neglected  there  is  a  danger  that  the  levels  taken 
may  not  tell  a  true  story  of  the  section  as  a  whole. 
From  this  point  of  view,  indeed,  keeping  the  whole 
of  one  part  of  the  site  more  or  less  on  the  same 
level  is  not  of  very  great  importance,  but  the 
avoidance  of  deep  digging  here  and  there  in 
general  simplifies  the  arrangement  of  roads  for 
dumping  and  makes  it  always  easier  to  work  from 
the  top. 

The  necessity  for  so  working  in  order  to  gain 
our  methodical  end  is  obvious,  but  it  needs  empha¬ 
sizing,  for  there  is  always  a  great  temptation  for 
the  workman  to  dig  from  the  side  inwards — it  is 
easier  and  saves  him  a  great  deal  of  labour.  Instead 
of  lifting  every  spadeful  all  that  he  has  to  do  is  a 
little  undermining,  and  the  upper  earth  comes 
down  of  itself.  It  is  however  the  gravest  of 
crimes,  for  it  insures  the  confusion  of  anv  stratifi- 
cation  that  may  have  existed.  It  might  be  argued 
that  if  all  that  is  necessary  to  salvation  is  so  to 
dig  by  subdivisions  that  in  theory  everything  could 
be  put  back  in  position,  this  result  could  be  got 
just  as  well  by  having  a  big  vertical  and  a  very 
small  horizontal  section.  It  is  not  so  however,  for 
such  an  argument  would  ignore  the  original 
workings  of  time  whereby  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
the  knowledge  that  is  valuable  concerns  the 
vertical  position  of  objects,  not  the  horizontal. 
Moreover,  whereas  digging  from  the  top  permits 
of  full  control  at  will  of  the  dimensions  of  sections 
both  horizontal  and  vertical,  digging  from  the  side 
leaves  little  control  of  the  vertical  dimensions  of 


II] 


PARTICULAR 


15 


the  section,  which  would  practically  depend  on  the 
height  of  the  earth  wall  that  is  being  attacked. 

Fatal  to  the  knowledge  of  stratification,  digging 
from  the  side  is  not  to  be  recommended  even  when 
it  is  certain  that  there  is  none  to  know,  for  unless 
the  excavation  is  taking  place  on  a  hillside  the 
practice  involves  more  labour,  not  to  the  actual 
man  with  the  spade,  but  to  the  excavation  as  a 
whole.  For  should  a  track  on  the  level  be  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  removal  of  the  dump,  to  allow  any 
soil  to  fall  further  than  can  be  helped  is  clear 
waste  of  labour.  During  my  season  in  Egypt  the 
application  of  labour  to  the  bottom  of  a  mound 
that  had  to  be  cleared  must  have  wasted  a  large 
amount  of  work,  for  by  that  method  it  is  hardly 
an  exaggeration  to  say  that  all  the  sand  first  slid 
down  to  the  very  lowest  point  possible,  the  bottom 
of  the  mound,  which  was  lower  than  the  sur¬ 
rounding  desert,  and  thence  had  to  be  carried  up 
to  the  dumping  railway  on  the  level  of  the  desert. 
If  the  work  had  been  applied  to  the  top  of  the 
mound  much  money  might  have  been  saved.  There 
however  the  only  harm  was  wasted  money,  on  a 
stratified  site  the  penalty  would  have  been  lost 
possibilities  of  knowledge. 

If  time  and  money  were  of  no  account  there  is 
no  doubt  that  for  a  productive  site  the  best  digging 
tool  would  be  a  kind  of  bread-knife  without  a 
point.  The  use  of  such  a  weapon  goes  nearest  to 
insure  the  fewest  possible  breakages,  for  it  is  light, 
and  the  blunt  end  does  not  provide  the  same  strong 
temptation  as  a  point  to  use  premature  leverage. 
Excavators  however  are  only  human  so  that  it  is 


l6  PARTICULAR  [CH. 

in  practice  impossible  to  forbear  the  use  of  pick 
and  spade  until  it  is  known  that  objects  lie  sa 
thick  that  the  knife  must  be  substituted.  And 
then  I  think  the  governing  reason  is  the  fear  rather 
of  missing  than  of  breaking  objects.  The  question 
of  breakages  is  very  delicate.  There  is  naturally 
a  strong  desire  to  keep  them  down  and  to  eliminate 
all  unnecessary  smashes,  but  in  practice  it  is  not 
found  advisable  to  punish  such  or  even  to  give 
severe  reprimands,  for  such  unpleasantness  gives 
the  workman  strong  reason  to  suppress  in  future 
all  traces  of  his  victim — a  far  worse  evil. 

Rather  to  be  recommended  is  an  appeal  to  the 
man's  better  nature,  supported  by  what  is  perhaps 
still  more  effective,  a  reduction  but  not  complete 
suppression  of  the  tip,  when  the  object  is  such  as 
would  naturally  produce  one.  Where  more  firm¬ 
ness  can  be  shown  with  advantage  is  when  a  piece 
is  missing  from  an  object  and  the  break  shows 
new,  a  matter  about  which  there  can  seldom  be 
doubt.  Rigorous  search  can  well  be  insisted  on, 
for,  though  no  doubt  the  man  regards  it  as  a 
nuisance,  nothing  irremediable  has  happened,  so 
that  the  only  temptation  towards  complete  sup¬ 
pression  is  laziness,  which  the  certain  loss  of  the 
possible  tip  may  be  trusted  to  check. 

The  system  of  tips  here  referred  to,  which  has 
worked  well  in  Greece,  consists  of  giving  a  ticket 
to  the  finder  of  any  object  thought  worth  it.  The 
giver  writes  on  it  the  nature  of  the  object  and 
initials  it,  and  on  pay-day  it  is  redeemed  for  such 
a  sum,  varying  in  practice  from  twenty  centimes 
to  a  franc,  as  he  thinks  it  worth.  The  men  seem 


II] 


PARTICULAR 


*7 


to  like  the  system,  the  element  of  chance  in  the 
uncertain  value  of  the  ticket  being  a  great  attrac¬ 
tion,  and  it  has  this  great  merit  that  it  wonderfully 
sharpens  the  workman's  eyes. 

Sharpness  of  the  eyes,  which  is  really  responsive 
quickness  of  the  brain,  is  perhaps  for  the  excavator 
the  greatest  of  nature's  gifts,  though  it  can  be 
improved  by  practice.  Where  it  is  probably  most 
needed  is  for  the  noting  of  all  changes  of  soil  as 
the  digging  proceeds.  These  may  mean  nothing, 
but  they  may  mean  everything,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  layer  of  sand  at  the  Sanctuary  of  Orthia  at 
Sparta.  They  are,  unless  well  marked  and  general, 
the  most  elusive  of  observable  facts,  and  once 
missed  they  may  offer  no  second  chance  of  detec¬ 
tion,  but  a  comparison  of  a  series  of  such  observa¬ 
tions  over  a  whole  site  may  tell  a  great  story. 
I  see  no  reason  against  keeping  a  specimen  of  the 
soil  of  every  section  except  the  extra  trouble,  nine- 
tenths  of  which  would,  of  course,  be  wasted,  but 
which  would  be  well  repaid  later  on  by  the  possi¬ 
bility  of  checking  the  field  observations.  One 
point  that  should  never  be  forgotten  is  the  useful¬ 
ness  of  making  diagrams  of  the  stratification  and 
changes  in  the  earth  when  such  are  visible  in  the 
sides  of  trenches  and  pits.  For  instance,  supposing 
that  it  were  possible  to  make  the  subjoined 
drawings,  Figs.  1  and  2,  showing  the  changes  in 
the  earth  and  finds  observed  in  the  sides  of  two 
trenches  at  right  angles  to  one  another  along  the 
lines  B — A,  C — B,  as  in  Fig.  3,  it  would  be  possible 
to  deduce  from  these  with  some  certainty  the  rough 
contours  of  the  virgin  soil  in  this  neighbourhood 


D. 


2 


i8 


PARTICULAR 


[CH. 


(indicated  in  Fig.  3  by  the  figures  in  metres),  and, 
from  noticing  how  the  deposits  so  far  from  following 
that  contour  line  rise  steeply  towards  the  point  B, 
to  guess  that  something  of  exceptional  interest 
should  lie  in  that  direction  to  account  for  this 
swelling.  The  hint  so  obtained  would  be  of 
material  value  when  the  whole  area  came  to  be 
cleared,  and  the  observations  would  in  any  case 
be  useful  later  on  as  a  check  to  the  levels  taken, 


fig.  1  SECTIOJV. 


FIG. *2.  SECTIOIV. 


METRES 


Specimen  sketches  of  Stratification. 


and  as  a  help  to  the  understanding  of  the  history 
of  the  deposits.  It  was  by  working  on  these  lines 
that  the  excavators  at  Sparta  were  able  to  guess 
beforehand  at  the  existence  of  the  early  temple  at 
the  Sanctuary  of  Orthia  and  to  be,  so  to  speak, 
ready  for  it1.  And,  however  much  care  theory 
demands  for  all  stages  of  the  operations,  in  practice 
a  special  whip  of  this  kind  has  its  usefulness.  The 
workmen  should  of  course  be  trained  to  report  at 

1  B.S.A.  xiv,  pp.  13  and  14. 


II] 


PARTICULAR 


19 


once  any  change  in  the  soil  that  they  may  notice, 
as  they  would  any  thrilling  find,  but  as  workmen 
are  not  to  be  trusted  to  pay  attention  to  such 
trifles,  which  being  beyond  their  understanding 
they  treat  as  mere  whims  of  their  employer,  the 
employer’s  eye  should  never  be  far  off.  It  follows 
then  that  no  excavation  should  ever  be  left  without 
some  capable  man  in  charge,  and  work  should 
never  be  carried  on  over  an  area  wider  than  can 
be  supervised  properly.  For  given  the  chance  any 
site  will  develop  enough  spiteful  intelligence  to 
produce  its  best  finds  just  in  the  absence  of  the 
observing  eye,  and  even  among  the  best  trained 
workmen  there  are  few  with  self-restraint  enough 
to  wait  for  its  return.  When  authority  does  return 
it  may  be  to  find  an  urn  burial  with  the  vase 
already  moved,  and  the  chance  of  photographing 
or  sketching  it  in  position  gone. 

This  is  a  return  to  the  plea  for  an  adequate 
staff.  It  is  also  a  plea  for  comparatively  short 
hours.  As  thus :  in  Greece  when  a  man  is  engaged 
to  work  he  expects  to  do  so  from  6  a.m.  to  6  p.m., 
with  half  an  hour  for  breakfast  at  8,  and  an  hour 
and  a  half  off  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  or  if  it  is 
getting  towards  summer  he  will  work  till  6.30  with 
two  hours’  rest  at  noon.  Those  hours  he  would 
work  tilling  his  own  fields  or  another’s,  and  exca¬ 
vating  work  is  on  the  whole  less  heavy,  for  pick 
and  spade  naturally  rest  by  turns,  the  spade  being 
never  used  for  breaking  up  the  soil  but  only  for 
clearing  away  that  already  excavated.  The  man  in 
charge  however  has  his  attention  continually  on  the 
strain.  Moreover  his  headquarters  are  generally 


20  PARTICULAR  [CH. 

not  absolutely  on  the  site,  and  even  at  lunch 
time  the  journey  to  and  fro  may  leave  him  little 
time  for  rest  if  he  is  to  be  back  when  work  begins, 
while  at  breakfast  time  this  is  manifestly  impos¬ 
sible.  And,  however  adequately  staffed  the  exca¬ 
vation  may  be,  to  have  another  man  ready  to  go 
out  when  the  first  returns  does  not  pay,  apart  from 
the  unsociability  and  the  possible  culinary  difficul¬ 
ties,  because  in  work  of  this  kind  if  anything  is 
happening  the  reliever  should  always  overlap  the 
relieved  in  order  that  he  may  be  brought  up  to 
date  with  the  position.  I  am  convinced  that  a 
lengthening  of  the  morning  and  midday  rests 
would  greatly  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  man  in 
charge,  and  would  probably  mean  a  decrease  in 
slackness  in  the  workman  towards  the  end  of  the 
day,  so  that  the  actual  loss  in  amount  of  work 
done  would  not  be  great.  It  is  no  doubt,  in  the 
case  of  excavations  dependent  on  subscriptions,  a 
desire  to  get  the  utmost  possible  in  return  for  the 
money  spent  that  is  responsible  for  the  length  of 
the  hours  of  work,  but  these  are,  nevertheless,  a 
mistake,  for  they  lead  to  staleness.  It  is  open 
however  to  the  reader  to  ascribe  this  view  of  mine 
to  laziness. 


B.  Trials. 

With  wealth,  unlimited  time  and  superhuman 
patience  a  man  might  work  out  his  subdivisions 
and  proceed.  Few,  unfortunately,  can  afford  to 
do  so.  For  the  rest  it  is  necessary  to  make  trials 
before  beginning  the  main  work,  which  is  a  pity 


PARTICULAR 


21 


n] 

because  a  site  is  not  a  cheese  and  tastes  are  apt 
to  damage  it. 

If  there  are  walls  showing  or  stones  that  look 
like  parts  of  walls  it  is  a  natural,  and  strange  to 
say  quite  proper,  method  of  beginning  trials  to 
dig  trenches  along  them  to  discover  how  deep  they 
go.  If  there  are  no  walls,  it  is  better  to  dig 
trenches  than  a  series  of  pits  in  spite  of  the  greater 
cost,  for  the  absence  of  gaps  in  the  line  gives  a 
certainty  that  no  transverse  wall  has  been  missed. 
The  danger  of  trusting  to  pits  is  illustrated  by  the 
story  that  some  pits  that  were  dug  in  the  middle  of 
the  Palace  of  Knossos  missed  everything 1.  If  then 
the  presence  of  a  building  is  suspected,  and  most 
sites  possess  buildings,  two  pairs  of  trenches  at 
right  angles  to  one  another  across  the  given  area 
to  be  tried  should  have  a  good  chance  of  finding 
it,  and  would  at  least  limit  absolutely  the  space 
still  open  for  search  in  that  area.  In  rocky 
countries  where  field  divisions  are  often  stone 
walls,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  these  may  be 
built  on  ancient  foundations. 

All  trenches  should  be  dug  with  as  much  care 
and  subdivision  as  the  subsequent  excavation  as 
soon  as  finds  have  declared  themselves,  and  their 
position  should  be  carefully  planned.  No  matter 
how  unpromising  the  outlook  every  trial  trench 
should  be  carried  down  to  virgin  soil,  for  the 
excavator  cannot  otherwise  be  sure  that  he  has 
obtained  all  the  knowledge  possible  from  that 
trench.  This  indeed  applies  to  main  operations 
just  as  much  as  to  trials,  though  perhaps  the 
temptation  is  strongest  to  abandon  a  barren  trench. 

1  B.S.A.  vm,  p.  i. 


22 


PARTICULAR 


[CH. 

This  again  is  a  principle  that  has  only  to  be 
stated  to  be  admitted,  but  there  is  more  than  one 
famous  Greek  site  where  a  resumption  of  work  at 
a  later  period  has  revealed  unsuspected  spoils  at  a 
depth  never  reached  in  the  earlier  operations. 
Curiously  enough  the  two  cases  that  are  in  my 
mind  at  the  moment  were  both  in  the  hands  of 
those  apostles  of  thoroughness,  the  Germans. 

A  method  of  testing  the  ground  exhaustively 
that  has  been  put  forward  is  to  run  a  series  of 
trenches  alongside  one  another,  filling  each  as  it  is 
finished  with  the  earth  dug  from  the  new  one.  It 
is  a  very  easy  way  for  there  is  not  much  lifting  of 
earth  involved,  and  no  carting  except  that  of  the 
earth  from  the  first  trench,  which  must  in  the  end 
be  moved  across  to  fill  the  last.  I  hope  this 
method  has  been  buried  long  ago,  but  as  there  is 
always  a  risk  of  its  being  resurrected,  I  enter  a 
warning.  It  has  nothing  to  recommend  it.  It  is 
a  thoroughly  messy  way  of  digging  (whoever  has 
read  so  far  will  see  that  this  alone  is  enough  to 
condemn  it),  for  instead  of  the  minimum  that 
should  be  aimed  at  it  involves  the  maximum  of 
standing  earth  wall,  through  digging  in  a  series  of 
narrow  strips;  a  very  bad  thing,  as  it  always 
means  a  chance  that  the  stratification  may  become 
mixed  through  small  objects  falling  or  being  washed 
out  of  the  sides  of  the  trench  at  the  upper  levels, 
and  being  confused  with  the  finds  from  lower  down. 
Moreover  the  open  trench  by  the  side  of  that  being 
dug  provides  a  tempting  opportunity  for  the  crime 
of  digging  in  from  the  side.  And  the  method  is 
not  even  so  cheap  as  it  looks,  for  it  probably 


II] 


PARTICULAR 


23 


requires  more  trenches  than  are  necessary  to  find 
out  that  the  site  is  not  worth  digging.  Should 
the  contrary  appear  no  one  I  think  would  continue 
the  method.  I  believe  the  most  plausible  defence 
is  likely  to  be  that  it  is  a  way  combining  cheapness 
and  thoroughness  of  searching  for  some  particular 
wall  or  building,  the  presence  of  which  is  suspected. 
If  all  that  is  wanted  is  to  find  the  building,  there 
is  no  more  to  be  said,  but  if,  as  may  be  presumed, 
it  is  desired  to  excavate  the  building  when  found, 
I  submit  that  it  is  not  a  good  thing  to  set  to  work 
by  a  preliminary  mess-up  of  its  surroundings. 
There  is  however  one  occasion,  and  only  one,  when 
I  would  admit  the  method,  and  that  is  when  a 
cemetery  is  being  sought  for,  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  area  contains  anything 
else.  For  isolated  trenches  may  easily  miss  tombs. 

When  trials  have  settled  the  area  to  be  dug 
they  are  not  finished  with,  for  the  best  site  for  the 
dump  has  yet  to  be  chosen  and  when  chosen  to  be 
tested  before  work  is  begun.  For  economically  it 
is  sheer  waste  of  money  to  throw  soil  on  a  place 
from  which  it  may  have  to  be  moved,  and  archaeo- 
logically  it  is  criminal,  for  the  added  cost  will 
afterwards  always  act  as  a  deterrent  from  digging 
such  a  spot. 

C.  Dumping. 

About  dumping  there  is  not  much  that  is  useful 
to  be  said.  The  problem  is  always  to  adjust  the 
means  to  the  requirements.  The  means  within  my 
knowledge  are  an  overhead  railway  on  ropes,  a 
light  railway  with  trucks  (man  or  horse  drawn), 


24  PARTICULAR  [CH. 

carts,  wheel-barrows  and  baskets.  The  first  two 
perhaps  hardly  repay  the  trouble  unless  the  amount 
of  soil  to  be  moved  is  very  great,  or  the  only 
proper  site  for  the  dump  very  distant ;  moreover, 
unless  the  plant  is  large  it  is  probably  not  feasible 
to  bring  them  right  up  to  several  scattered  points 
of  work,  and  another  method  such  as  baskets  must 
be  used  to  feed  the  railway  from  various  points. 
All  this  may  be  very  satisfactory  in  certain  circum¬ 
stances  as  when  a  large  amount  of  what  is  known 
to  be  unproductive  soil  has  to  be  moved  to  a 
distance.  If  however  the  site  is  one  productive 
of  small  and  easily  overlooked  objects,  however 
extensive  it  may  be  there  are  at  least  two  reasons 
for  preferring  a  method  of  dumping,  perhaps  less 
rapid,  but  more  easily  controlled.  The  first  is 
that,  whereas  the  soil  should  be  raked  through 
with  the  hand  before  removal,  the  larger  the 
receptacle  the  greater  the  tendency  to  fill  it  as 
rapidly  as  possible  without  paying  the  soil  that 
attention.  This  may  seem  rather  a  fanciful  point, 
but  I  have  always  thought  that  one  of  the  reasons 
why  the  second  season’s  work  at  a  certain  famous 
excavation  had  to  consist  partly  of  the  digging  of 
the  first  season’s  dump  was  the  tempting  ease 
with  which  the  earth  could  be  tipped  over  the 
hillside.  However  that  may  be  it  is  very  certain 
that  the  greater  the  amount  tipped  over  the  dump 
at  one  go  the  less  easy  it  is  to  notice  anything 
that  ought  not  to  be  there.  However  careful  the 
digger  is  it  is  always  worth  while  to  have  a  boy 
looking  over  the  newly  tipped  dump,  and  the 
smaller  the  individual  tippings  the  more  hopeful 


II] 


PARTICULAR 


25 


his  task.  The  next  point  is  that  the  less  elaborate 
the  dumping  system  the  easier  it  is  to  modify,  if 
the  quantity  and  minuteness  of  the  finds  make  it 
necessary  to  sieve  all  earth  from  certain  sections 
before  dumping.  When  this  happens,  of  course, 
the  earth  from  each  section  and  level  must  be 
labelled  accordingly,  and  sieved  separately  that 
any  finds  from  it  may  not  lose  their  context. 
Now,  it  is  perfectly  true  that  if  it  is  decided  to 
be  necessary  the  trouble  entailed  will  be  borne, 
but  it  is  none  the  less  certain  that  the  question 
presents  itself  in  the  form,  Is  it  worth  while? 
Thus  the  more  complex  the  system  to  be  altered 
the  greater  the  unconscious  check  on  a  step  other¬ 
wise  perhaps  advisable. 

I  confess  to  a  certain  shrinking,  perhaps  irra¬ 
tional,  from  the  more  wholesale  methods  of 
dumping.  I  would  rather  see  my  work  held  up 
slightly  while  I  arranged  for  increased  facilities  to 
meet  the  proved  demands  of  the  site,  than  have 
my  means  of  dumping  greater  than  necessary,  for 
there  is,  I  think,  in  that  case  a  danger  not  wholly 
fanciful  of  a  subtle  change  in  the  excavator's 
point  of  view,  of  his  coming  to  regard  the  dumping 
cars  as  voracious  monsters  that  must  be  fed,  and 
the  amount  of  soil  moved  as  the  standard  of  his 
achievements. 


D.  First  Aid. 

It  does  not  need  much  experience  for  a  man  to 
tell  when  an  object  is  too  fragile  to  stand  being 
taken  from  the  earth  unsupported.  Indeed,  I 
think  experience  tells  the  other  way  and  leads  to 


26 


PARTICULAR 


[CH. 


greater  boldness.  The  necessary  support  may  be 
given  in  two  ways,  either  by  plaster  of  Paris  or 
by  paraffin  wax.  As  much  soil  is  removed  from 
the  surface  and  all  round  the  object  as  is  possible 
without  disturbing  it.  Then  in  the  first  process  it 
is  covered  with  wet  paper  and  plaster  not  mixed 
too  thin  is  poured  over  and  round  it.  When  the 
plaster  has  set,  it  is  generally  possible  to  cut  the 
object  loose  from  beneath  without  breaking  it,  as 
the  support  above  prevents  the  usual  upheaval. 
After  removal,  the  lower  surface  of  the  object 
should  be  cleaned  and  also  supported  by  plaster, 
after  which  the  upper  plaster  can  be  removed  and 
the  upper  surface  cleaned.  By  this  means  the 
object  is  never  unsupported  during  the  process  of 
cleaning.  If  the  use  of  paraffin  wax  is  preferred, 
all  that  is  needed  is  a  spirit  lamp  and  a  frying 
pan.  The  wax  is  melted  and  poured  on  in  as 
many  coats  as  seem  required  by  the  weight  of  the 
object.  If  it  is  not  proposed  to  clean  the  object 
at  once  the  back  should  also  be  coated  after 
removal.  To  remove  the  wax  remelting  is  all  that 
is  necessary.  There  is  not  much  to  choose  between 
the  two  methods,  for  while  it  is  easier  to  leave  a 
support  during  the  process  of  cleaning  if  plaster  is 
used,  there  is  less  chance  of  breaking  the  object  by 
melting  the  wax  than  by  sawing  the  plaster  to 
remove  it.  These  devices  are  only  practical  with 
comparatively  small  objects,  but  luckily  the  fragile 
as  a  rule  runs  small. 

The  excavator  however  soon  learns  to  be 
philosophical  about  breakages,  whether  old  or  new. 

If  he  did  not  he  could  not  bear  his  trade.  Some 


n] 


PARTICULAR 


27 


indeed  bring  their  philosophy  to  such  a  pitch  as 
to  feel  that  the  better  view  is  to  prefer  things 
broken,  that  to  put  a  premium  on  the  unbroken 
object  smacks  rather  of  the  collector,  that  all  that 
the  best  people  should  care  about  is  knowledge, 
and  that  they  should  be  satisfied  if  enough  is  left 
to  show  the  original  nature  of  the  whole.  They 
do  not  however  carry  their  theories  so  far  into 
practice  as  to  neglect  any  means  of  preserving 
what  does  happen  to  be  perfect.  It  is  little  enough 
as  a  rule. 

E.  Notes. 

To  take  notes  at  an  excavation  is  in  itself  an 
art  to  be  learnt.  It  is  not  easy  to  write  a  descrip¬ 
tion  that  shall  omit  nothing  of  importance  and  be 
intelligible  to  another  person  or  to  the  writer 
himself  six  months  afterwards  when  the  context 
has  faded  from  his  mind.  In  this  connection 
there  is  a  further  advantage  in  the  division  of  the 
site  into  sections,  for  it  provides  at  once  a  heading 
for  the  note,  and  the  writer  is  not  left  wondering 
how  to  fix  the  position  of  the  fact  he  is  to  describe. 
It  is  impossible  to  give  directions  for  such  notes, 
but  they  should  err  in  the  direction  of  fullness 
rather  than  of  concision,  and  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  rough  sketches  and  plans  are  often  worth 
more  than  a  good  many  words. 

In  practice  the  excavator's  vocabulary  is  prob¬ 
ably  full  of  slang  words  and  nicknames  for  par¬ 
ticular  classes  of  finds.  There  is,  I  think,  no 
reason  why  he  should  put  himself  to  the  pains  of 
translating  the  words  that  come  to  his  mind,  the 


28 


PARTICULAR 


[CH. 


use  of  which  may  often  mean  a  real  saving  of 
space  and  time,  provided  that  he  chooses  a  leisure 
moment  to  enter  a  dictionary  on  a  spare  page; 
I  possess  for  instance  a  notebook  from  Sparta 
that  records  the  presence  in  many  sections  of 
“Toutou”  in  varying  quantities.  “Some  have 
greatness  thrust  upon  them,”  among  whom  was 
Georgios  Toutoudakis  or  Toutous.  He  was  a 
Cretan  who  worked  at  Sparta  during  the  first 
season,  and  he  it  was  who  working  in  a  pit  by 
himself  found  the  first  specimens  of  pottery  of  a 
particular  period,  the  relations  of  which  at  that 
time  could  only  be  guessed  at.  What  more  natural 
than  to  call  it  after  its  finder  ?  The  ware  in 
question  has  since  become  known  as  Laconian  V, 
but  it  was  two  and  a  half  years  before  we  had 
sufficient  evidence  on  which  to  classify  the  Spartan 
pottery,  during  which  years  Toutou's  name  was 
on  our  lips  to  an  extent  that  would  have  surprised 
him.  It  was  short  and  distinctive,  and  answered 
every  purpose  while  the  proper  name  of  the  said 
ware  yet  remained  hidden.  If  any  finds  are  con¬ 
nected  with  the  circumstances  noted  it  is  often 
useful  to  add  to  their  label  a  reference  to  the  page 
in  the  notebook.  Lastly  to  provide  for  the  worst 
the  handwriting  and  arrangement  should  be  intel¬ 
ligible  not  to  the  writer  only. 

It  has  often  been  said,  and  not  without  a 
certain  truth,  that  the  best  notes  are  labels. 
Circumstances  no  doubt  vary  with  climates  but 
in  Europe  the  plan  that  works  best  is  to  use  a 
label  of  wood  and  to  write  on  it  with  not  too 
soft  a  pencil.  In  Greece  the  wooden  label  is 


PARTICULAR 


29 


n] 

particularly  useful  as  it  checks  the  depredations  of 
an  insect  rife  in  all  local  museums  whose  favourite 
delicacy  is  paper  and  particularly  inky  paper. 
Unless  the  pencil  used  is  too  soft  the  wooden  label 
is  also  indifferent  to  a  wetting,  and  it  has  the 
advantage,  or  at  least  the  compensation  for  its 
initial  expense,  that  after  the  complete  study  and 
probable  concentration  of  the  finds,  and  the  con¬ 
sequent  discharge  from  their  functions  of  many 
labels,  these  can  be  made  ready  for  new  service 
by  the  use  of  sandpaper.  A  string-hole  should  be 
provided  for  the  attachment  of  the  label  to  isolated 
finds  or  to  the  basket  or  tray.  Workmen  who  are 
finding  objects  should  be  trained  to  look  on  a 
label  duly  written  and  issued  by  authority  as  their 
most  crying  need,  and  to  think  that  to  be  found 
content  without  a  label  is  a  crime  only  surpassed 
by  confounding  the  belongings  of  two  separate 
labels. 

I  once  saw  an  excavation  where  the  finds  of 
pottery  in  different  years  were  distinguished  by 
dabs  of  different  coloured  paint.  The  advantage 
of  making  such  a  distinction  was  not  very  apparent 
but  the  system  appeared  to  have  valuable  possi¬ 
bilities  when  applied  to  stratification.  Clearly 
there  are  practical  difficulties  in  the  way  of  applying 
it  to  minute  subdivision,  but  as  the  work  proceeds 
should  certain  clear  divisions  in  the  stratification 
be  shown  by  well-defined  landmarks,  the  system 
might  well  be  used  to  mark  off  the  contents  of 
these  divisions,  not  to  supersede  labels  but  as  a 
safeguard  against  their  displacement ;  or  again  it 
would  be  invaluable  in  the  case  of  a  building 


3°  PARTICULAR  [CH. 

yielding  wall-fresco  fragments  in  great  quantity 
from  its  different  parts;  for  the  fitting  together 
of  such  is  a  puzzle  that  may  take  years  to  accom¬ 
plish,  years  in  which  accidents  might  befall  the 
best  system  of  labelling;  in  such  a  case  much 
virtue  would  lie  in  a  series  of  indelible  marks  that 
would  always  show  in  what  part  of  the  building 
were  found  the  individuals  of  a  crowd  of  similar 
pieces. 

The  keeping  of  an  excavation  day-book  is 
sometimes  thought  advisable.  In  an  extensive 
excavation  where  different  regions  are  under 
separate  direction  it  might  be  useful  to  secure 
that  an  account  of  the  work  as  a  whole  should 
be  found  between  one  set  of  covers.  In  practice 
however  it  happens  that  reference  is  seldom  made 
to  the  day-book,  each  man  preferring  to  refer  to 
his  own  notes,  and  what  is  felt  to  be  the  useless 
labour  of  writing  it  up  every  night  becomes  a 
great  burden.  The  better  plan  would  seem  to 
keep  such  a  book  for  entering  once  a  week  or  once 
a  fortnight  not  the  details  of  every  day,  which  are 
safe  enough  elsewhere,  but  the  general  trend  of 
the  excavation,  and  the  broad  conclusions  drawn 
from  the  work  accomplished  to  date,  things  which 
do  not  make  their  way  into  the  field  notebook. 
Indeed  the  only  real  advantage  of  the  daily  plan 
is  that  it  leads  the  writer  to  think  over  the  results 
of  the  day,  and  to  clear  up  on  the  spot  anv 
ambiguity  in  his  notes.  But  for  this  a  day-book 
is  not  necessary. 


II] 


PARTICULAR 


31 


F.  Site-choosing. 

This  is  all  very  well”  I  can  hear  my  reader 
saying,  supposing  that  he  has  got  so  far,  "but  we 
know  that  the  recipe  for  roast  hare  properly  begins 
First  catch  your  hare'  and  we  have  heard  nothing 
about  that  yet.”  The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that 
there  is  not  very  much  to  say  about  the  catching 
of  the  hare.  I  sometimes  think,  indeed,  that 
people  credit  the  excavator  with  dealings  in  black 
magic  or  at  least  with  the  use  of  a  divining  rod ; 
for  the  question  that  I  have  met  most  often  is 
How  do  you  know  where  to  dig?”  The  answer 
is  "By  using  our  eyes  and  ears.”  Would,  indeed, 
that  there  were  a  "dowsing”  rod  that  we  could 
use,  but  the  choosing  of  a  site  is  chiefly  guess¬ 
work,  yet  always  guess-work  guided  by  signs  and 
tokens,  ancient  worked  blocks,  portions  of  old 
wall,  or  the  like.  The  surest  indication  of  ancient 
habitation  is  the  presence  of  ancient  potsherds, 
which  being  both  characteristic  of  their  period  and 
indestructible  make  the  most  descriptive  of  labels ; 
intrinsically,  too,  they  are  as  valueless  as  the  stones 
on  the  hillside,  so  that  they  are  not  likely  to  have 
been  moved  except  possibly  downhill  by  the  forces 
of  denudation,  and  in  Greece  if  none  are  to  be 
found  the  spot  is  probably  not  worth  consideration. 

Chance  often  plays  a  part  in  the  discovery  of 
sites,  as  in  the  action  of  the  river  at  Sparta  where 
by  erosion  it  brought  to  light  treasures  from  the 
Sanctuary  of  Orthia,  or  through  the  cloud-burst 
in  1913  that  laid  bare  the  first  of  a  series  of  tombs 
at  Pachys  Ammos  in  Crete ;  mostly  however  they 


32 


PARTICULAR 


[CH. 


are  found  by  diligent  search,  by  going  to  and  fro 
in  the  land,  and  by  questioning  the  people;  the 
owner  of  an  observant  eye  may  find  what  he  is 
seeking  by  tracing  the  origin  of  an  ancient  block 
built  into  a  modern  house ;  for  the  Greek  peasant 
finds  an  old  site  to  be  the  best  of  quarries ;  where 
else,  indeed,  can  he  find  his  stone  ready  worked? 

For  the  season  of  1913  the  British  School  at 
Athens  wished  to  find  a  prehistoric  town  to  dig, 
and  a  party  visited  Naxos  in  search  of  one.  We 
had  a  very  pleasant  tour  round  the  island,  but  we 
had  no  luck,  finding  nothing  of  sufficient  promise 
to  justify  an  expedition.  One  particularly  bitter 
disappointment  we  met  with  there,  on  visiting  a 
site  known  to  us  as  having  been  partially  worked 
a  few  years  before.  The  undug  portion  was  fairly 
extensive  and  looked  very  hopeful  with  traces  of 
walls  appearing  and  with  prehistoric  island  pottery 
lying  thickly  over  a  good  area,  but  our  hopes  were 
dashed  by  the  discovery  of  one  of  those  round 
spaces  where  the  Greeks  of  to-day  use  the  ox, 
unscripturally  muzzled,  to  tread  out  their  corn; 
often  these  floors  are  paved,  but  this  one  was  cut 
down  to  the  living  rock  only  six  inches  below  the 
surface. 

Adieu  ftanier ,  vendanges  sont  faites.  We  moved 
on. 

Maghoula-hunting,  again,  was  an  excellent  sport 
in  which  I  indulged  with  Mr  Wace  before  the 
excavations  which  resulted  in  his  book1.  “Mag- 
houla,”  signifying  a  mound,  is  a  modern  word  that 
is  applied  to  the  gentle  swellings  on  the  Thessalian 

1  Wace  and  Thompson,  Prehistoric  Thessaly . 


n] 


PARTICULAR 


33 


plain  left  by  the  debris  of  prehistoric  settlements. 
Enquiry  often  gave  us  the  direction,  and  we 
tramped  the  plain  until  we  came  to  them,  when 
the  sherds  and  stone  implements  that  we  picked 
up  gave  a  good  indication  of  what  lay  beneath. 
Those  sites  were  the  easiest  of  any  to  find  and  the 
least  disappointing  when  found  that  my  experience 
has  met  with. 

In  general  however  the  sport  is  weary  and 
disheartening,  and  in  Greece  the  game  is  becoming 
scarce. 


D. 


3 


CHAPTER  III 


QUALIFICATIONS 

Meticulous  care  directed  by  common  sense  along 
the  lines  laid  down  by  past  experience,  that  is  the 
essence  of  good  digging;  yet  the  ideal  man  to 
have  charge  of  an  excavation  would  be  a  very 
versatile  person. 

He  should  be  very  patient,  able  to  hold  in 
check  any  natural  human  desire  for  undue  haste 
to  seize  his  spoil  until  his  sober  judgment  tells 
him  that  the  right  moment  has  come 1.  He  should 
have  the  power  of  smooth  organisation;  and  the 
power  of  delegating  to  others,  which  does  not  mean 
going  away  and  letting  the  others  do  his  work. 

1  I  lay  stress  upon  this,  and  by  way  of  illustration  will  point 
to  what  happened  at  Sparta,  where  the  presence  of  a  site  rich  in 
votive  offerings  was  discovered  through  the  river’s  washing  out 
samples  of  them  from  the  edge  of  the  Sanctuary  of  Orthia.  Now 
the  work  at  this  spot  in  the  first  days  was  perhaps  necessary  to 
ascertain  definitely  the  value  of  the  site,  but,  being  in  its  method 
not  wholly  different  from  the  activity  of  the  river,  it  produced  a 
set  of  objects  scientifically  inarticulate,  the  story  of  which  could 
only  be  told  by  the  subsequent  stratified  finds ;  and  much  harm 
would  have  been  done  if  the  responsible  authority  had  yielded 
to  the  desire  to  take  out  the  plunder  as  fast  as  it  could  be  reached, 
instead  of  having  the  wisdom  to  find  out  the  limits  of  the  site 
and  then  to  dig  it  methodically,  leaving  the  first  spot  till  its 
moment  came  so  as  to  save  whatever  stratification  might  there 
exist.  It  was  not  in  the  event  till  two  years  later  that  the  place 
first  attacked  was  allowed  to  surrender  its  treasures. 


CH.  Ill] 


QUALIFICATIONS 


35 


He  should  have  a  good  power  of  judging  the 
value  of  evidence,  and  enough  strength  of  mind  to 
give  it  its  full  weight,  even  when  it  tells  against 
his  most  cherished  theory;  indeed  he  should  be 
able  to  divest  his  mind  of  all  theory  while  engaged 
in  extracting  the  facts  from  his  evidence. 

He  should  have  enough  power  over  words  to 
write  concisely  a  rigidly  accurate  yet  lucid  report. 

He  should  have  a  vigorous  faith,  and  perse¬ 
verance  enough  to  carry  on  a  while  after  his  faith 
is  dead. 

He  should  have  that  touch  of  imagination  that 
will  often  illuminate  the  true  meaning  of  his  facts, 
and  in  an  archaeologist  is  genius. 

He  should  be  well  versed  in  the  practical  side 
of  his  work,  which  implies  skill  in  a  good  many 
directions,  though  here  I  have  only  put  down  the 
most  obvious.  He  should  have  knowledge  enough 
of  rudimentary  civil  engineering  to  know  how  to 
devise  the  best  way  of  removing  the  necessary 
soil,  how  to  lay  and  run  a  light  railway  where  its 
use  is  expedient,  and  how  to  move  large  weights 
if  necessary.  All  these  things  he  should  be  able 
to  do,  should  he  not  have  at  his  service  a  foreman 
who  can  do  them :  should  he  have  such  a  foreman 
he  should  make  very  sure  that  the  foreman's  way 
is  inferior  before  substituting  his  own,  remembering 
that  work  is  always  better  done  if  the  method  is 
familiar  to  the  men  doing  it,  that  other  things 
being  equal  the  local  way  is  the  best  way.  He 
should  be  a  practical  surveyor  in  a  small  way, 
unless  his  expedition  can  afford  to  keep  an  expert 
at  hand,  for  apart  from  the  planning  of  his  trenches 


36  QUALIFICATIONS  [CH. 

and  sections  it  may  be  necessary  to  destroy  foun¬ 
dations  that  cover  more  important  remains,  and 
this  cannot  be  done  innocently  unless  a  plan  of 
them  has  been  made  that  is  not  only  accurate  in 
itself,  but  can  also  be  put  accurately  in  its  place 
on  the  plan  of  the  whole  site.  For  this  purpose 
there  is  no  need  for  him  to  be  a  finished  draughts¬ 
man,  for  the  final  drawing  can,  of  course,  always 
be  made  by  professional  labour.  Likewise  he 
should  be  a  capable  draughtsman  in  water  colours 
as  well  as  in  black  and  white.  As  with  the 
planning  most  drawing  can  be  done  and  better 
done  professionally  after  the  excavation  is  over, 
yet  there  are  cases  when  the  object  is  too  frail  to 
be  removed  intact,  and  the  excavator’s  conscience 
is  then  clear  only  if  a  picture  has  been  made  before 
removal,  for  which  photography  is  not  always 
adequate,  for  all  archaeological  objects  cannot  be 
satisfactorily  photographed,  particularly  if  it  is  not 
possible  to  clean  them  thoroughly,  because,  though 
the  camera  cannot  lie,  it  cannot  make  a  proper 
distinction  between  dirt  and  design.  Then  he 
should  be  an  efficient  photographer,  a  photo¬ 
grapher,  not  a  mere  taker  of  photographs.  These 
last  three  items,  planning,  drawing  and  photo¬ 
graphy,  someone  must  be  able  to  do  and  do 
efficiently  at  a  moment’s  notice.  And  though  it 
is  not,  of  course,  necessary  that  the  man  in  charge 
should  be  expert  in  all  or  any  of  them,  these 
experts  should  be  present  on  his  staff,  and  if  it  is 
necessary  to  have  special  professionals  always  at 
hand,  the  expenses  of  the  excavation  are  materially 
increased.  It  is  not  urged  that  the  main  planning. 


Ill] 


QUALIFICATIONS 


37 


drawing  and  photography  should  not  be  done  by 
professionals,  but  the  main  work  in  these  branches 
can  be  done  at  a  known  time  at  the  end  of  the 
excavation,  when  it  is  often  possible  to  import  a 
professional  for  a  known  amount  of  work,  whereby 
the  expense  is  much  reduced.  In  the  matter  of 
photography  moreover  the  archaeologist  should 
have  good  experience  at  any  rate  of  museum 
photography,  that  is  to  say,  have  an  expert 
knowledge  of  arrangement,  lighting  and  back¬ 
grounds,  since  in  my  experience  no  professional 
photographer  can  be  trusted  to  do  such  work 
without  supervision.  To  take  but  one  instance ; 
I  have  more  than  once  seen  photographs  taken  of 
inscriptions  when  an  excellent  negative  has  been 
quite  useless  because  the  operator  did  not  think  to 
arrange  a  side  light,  which  would  have  greatly 
increased  the  legibility  through  the  resulting 
shadows  in  the  lettering.  Similarly  of  draughts¬ 
men.  Few  artists,  however  good,  can  be  trusted 
to  make  archaeological  drawings  without  super¬ 
vision  unless  they  have  great  experience  in  the 
kind  of  work  required,  for  their  eyes  are  not 
trained  to  the  minuteness  of  vision,  nor  their 
minds  to  the  inartistic  accuracy  that  are  wanted. 

He  should  have  a  good  knowledge  of  first  aid 
to  sick  “  anticas,”  which  implies  an  elementary 
knowledge  of  chemistry.  I  know  of  an  excavation 
where  bronze  axes,  in  order  to  clean  off  the 
corrosion,  were  put  into  a  chemical  bath  which 
worked  so  efficiently  as  to  clean  away  the 
axes. 

He  should  know  how  to  take  those  measure- 


QUALIFICATIONS 


[CH.  Ill 


ments  of  bones  and  skulls  that  are  desired  by 
anthropologists. 

He  should  have  a  good  book  knowledge  of 
archaeology,  and  at  any  rate,  as  far  as  possible, 
acquaintance  with  the  kind  of  thing  that  he 
expects  to  find.  Here  a  wide  general  familiarity 
is  better  than  expert  knowledge  in  a  narrow  field. 

He  should  have  the  power  of  making  swift 
decisions,  and  the  readiness  for  responsibility  that 
are  wanted  by  all  men  at  the  head  of  serious 
undertakings. 

He  should  be  able  readily  to  speak  and  under¬ 
stand  the  language  of  his  workmen,  and  have  the 
power  of  dealing  with  men,  so  as  to  get  the  best 
results  out  of  them  while  keeping  on  excellent 
terms. 

He  should  have  tact  and  social  charm  both  for 
dealing  with  his  staff,  for  an  unhappy  dig  is  an 
inefficient  dig,  and  for  negotiating  any  difficulties 
that  may  arise. 

He  should  have  a  good  temper,  but  a  stiff  jaw. 

Lastly,  he  should  have  digested  this  essay. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE 

The  plant  required  by  an  excavation  will,  of 
course,  vary  with  the  conditions,  but  a  list  of  the 
things  that  it  would  seem  advisable  to  lay  in  may 
have  some  interest. 

The  main  tools  to  be  used  by  the  men  are 
picks,  spades,  knives,  and  baskets.  In  Greece  a 
round  rush  basket  is  obtainable,  being  used  in  the 
mines  at  Laurium,  which  is  not  too  large,  so  that 
when  full  of  earth  it  is  easily  carried.  It  is  good 
to  have  a  large  supply  as  they  wear  out  and  are 
useful  moreover  for  holding  small  finds  such  as 
pottery,  as  well  as  for  shifting  the  earth,  and  even 
as  packing  cases  for  the  smaller  finds  if  the  journey 
is  short,  the  method  being  to  sew  two  together 
with  string.  The  picks  used  should  be  very  light 
and  spare  shafts  should  not  be  forgotten  unless 
there  is  a  local  supply.  Besides  these,  a  crowbar 
or  two,  a  sledge  hammer,  a  few  sieves  and  some 
rope  are  indispensable. 

Indispensable  also  are  a  dumpy  level,  and  a 
prismatic  compass,  of  which  the  use  is  chiefly  to 
take  one  bearing  for  any  plan  to  find  magnetic. 
I  do  not  agree  with  the  view  that  the  archaeologist 
should  trouble  himself  with  true  north  unless  he 
wants  to  fit  his  plan  on  to  an  existing  map,  a  rare 
event.  True  north  except  in  the  case  of  temples 


40  THE  outfit  and  its  use  [ch. 

and  stone  circles  is  quite  immaterial,  and  if  the 
work  done  is  dated  can  always  be  obtained  by  any 
one  interested.  But  the  stick  method  of  ascer¬ 
taining  it  is  easy  and  there  is  no  harm  in  employing 
it  on  a  fine  Sunday.  At  any  hour  before  noon  a 
surveying  pole  is  driven  upright  into  the  ground, 
and  the  end  of  the  shadow  is  marked  by  a  peg. 
A  circle  is  drawn  from  the  pole  as  centre  with  the 
then  length  of  shadow  as  radius.  A  watch  is 
kept,  and  when  in  the  afternoon  the  shadow 
lengthens  again  to  touch  the  circle,  that  is  to  just 
the  same  length,  the  point  at  which  it  does  so  is 
marked  by  another  peg.  A  line  is  drawn  from 
each  peg  to  the  pole,  and  the  line  that  bisects  the 
resulting  angle 1  points  due  North  and  South. 

For  ordinary  excavation  work  there  is  not  much 
need  for  a  theodolite  and  at  the  present  time  I 
confess  that  I  have  forgotten  how  to  use  one. 
Yet,  since  it  may  always  be  advisable  in  the  case 
of  a  scattered  site  to  make  a  survey  of  a  longish 
tract  of  country,  for  which  a  prismatic  compass  is 
not  sufficiently  accurate,  and  since  a  theodolite 
embodies  in  itself  a  levelling  instrument,  it  might 
be  advisable  to  substitute  it  for  the  dumpy  level. 
Over  smaller  areas  however  the  system  of  triangles 
with  chain  or  tape  2  is  a  more  satisfactory  method 
of  making  a  plan  for  the  amateur  than  any  reading 
of  angles,  for  not  only  is  any  error  of  any  angle 
multiplied  by  the  distance,  but,  no  matter  how 
accurately  the  angles  are  read,  the  angle  method 
is  fruitful  of  mistakes  when  it  comes  to  putting 
the  readings  on  paper  with  the  help  of  a  protractor. 

1  Euclid,  Book  i.  Prop.  9.  *  Appendix  B. 


IV] 


THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE 


41 


For  first  aid  to  the  finds  there  should  be  a 
supply  of  plaster  of  Paris  and  paraffin  wax,  and 
of  shellac  and  methylated  spirit  for  the  mending 
of  anything  that,  like  pottery,  is  not  damaged  by 
a  clean  flame.  For  other  objects  there  should  be 
some  gum  or  cement  such  as  seccotine,  which 
answers  admirably  where  the  climate  is  dry  and 
warm,  for  the  temporary  mending  that  they  need 
to  fit  them  for  the  drawing  or  photography  that 
must  be  done  actually  at  the  excavation,  if  an 
illustrated  lecture  is  to  be  given  before  the  full 
study  and  arrangement  of  results  in  the  museum. 
Water  however  will  always  dissolve  seccotine,  so 
that  in  a  damp  climate  its  use  is  impossible ; 
indeed  I  once  knew  a  vase  mended  with  it  experi¬ 
mentally  fall  to  pieces  from  the  damp  atmosphere 
after  three  wet  days.  Like  shellac  it  has  the 
advantage  that  it  takes  up  no  appreciable  space, 
allowing  a  very  close  join,  which  is  not  the 
case  with  the  porcelain  cements.  In  Egypt  I 
have  seen  limestone  Stelae  with  a  surface  very 
near  disintegration  treated  with  a  thin  solution  of 
tapioca  with  excellent  results,  but  I  have  never 
seen  stone  with  the  same  tendency  to  powder  in 
a  less  dry  climate.  Still,  tapioca  is  cheap  and  not 
bulky. 

For  cleaning  pottery  and  terracotta  objects  a 
good  supply  of  hydrochloric  acid  is  wanted,  of 
which  the  method  of  use  is  either  to  leave  the 
pottery  in  a  fairly  strong  solution,  or  to  dip  it  in 
water  and  then  to  apply  the  acid  neat  with  a  paste 
brush,  or  to  do  first  the  one  and  then  the  other 
for  the  more  obstinate  points.  The  brushes  used 


42  THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE  [CH. 

in  this  process  are  not  long  lived.  Afterwards  the 
acid  may  be  neutralised  by  dipping  the  pottery 
into  water  in  which  a  pinch  of  potash  has  been 
thrown — a  very  small  pinch,  for  too  much  will 
leave  a  white  film  difficult  to  remove;  but  where 
the  acid  has  no  apparent  effect  on  the  fabric,  and 
otherwise  it  should  not  be  used,  it  is  probably 
enough  to  rinse  the  pottery  in  clean  water,  for 
within  my  experience  no  harm  has  ever  resulted 
from  the  omission  of  the  potash.  All  unknown 
wares  however  should  be  carefully  tested  before 
applying  the  process,  as  very  rarely  the  acid  is 
found  to  eat  into  the  fabric ;  yet  this  is  so  unusual, 
and  in  my  experience  so  much  harm  is  done  to 
delicate  wares  by  rubbing  with  the  brush  in  the 
course  of  washing  with  water,  that  I  would  wish 
to  see  acid  used  for  all  pottery  found,  not  merely 
reserved  for  the  best,  for  by  a  patient  use  of  it 
the  harmful  rubbing  is  avoided.  Moreover,  if  the 
earth  of  the  site  is  at  all  clinging  it  may  be  very 
hard  to  tell  what  is  worthy  of  acid,  and  it  is  better 
to  shake  hands  with  a  waiter  than  to  cut  a  guest. 

Scrubbing  brushes,  large  and  small,  and  small 
nail  brushes  are  very  helpful  for  the  cleaning  of 
objects  with  a  hard  surface;  but  should  the 
surface  be  at  all  delicate  no  brush,  however  soft, 
should  be  used,  for  the  brush  cannot  discriminate 
and,  while  brushing  the  dirt  that  still  remains, 
continues  to  brush  the  adjacent  surface  that  it 
has  just  cleaned,  often  much  to  its  detriment. 
For  such  cases  the  right  tool  is  a  needle,  which 
will  generally  be  present  in  the  excavator’s  personal 
outfit,  unless  he  wishes  his  socks  to  be  permanently 


IV] 


THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE 


43 


in  holes  and  all  his  buttons  to  be  missing ;  nothing 
is  better  if  used  with  a  light  hand  and  a  great  deal 
of  patience,  for,  by  rubbing  gently  with  the  side 
of  the  point  and  thus  keeping  an  extremely  small 
portion  of  the  metal  in  contact  with  the  surface, 
the  operator  can  see  exactly  what  he  is  doing,  and 
need  never  touch  again  a  part  that  is  once  made 
clean. 

If  it  is  anticipated  that  many  small  articles 
will  be  found,  nests  of  pill  boxes  in  large  numbers 
are  useful  things  to  have,  for  an  object  can  then 
be  put  away  in  its  own  box  with  its  label  written 
outside  at  the  moment  of  finding;  for  this  and 
other  purposes  cotton  wool  packing  or  better,  if 
obtainable,  wood  wool  should  be  kept. 

Again  if  much  pottery  or  anything  that  is 
small  is  expected  a  supply  of  wooden  trays  is  very 
convenient,  as  thus  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the 
finds  is  made  easy ;  and  much  saving  of  space  can 
be  obtained,  when  the  yield  from  subdivisions  is 
small,  by  having  a  set  of  smaller  tin  trays  fitting 
nest  wise  inside  these.  For  the  use  of  the  British 
School  at  Athens,  the  late  Director  devised  a 
portable  rack  for  taking  a  number  of  these  trays. 
It  consisted  of  four  stout  uprights,  held  together 
by  a  number  of  cross  pieces  that  acted  as  shelves, 
and  were  all  numbered,  and  fastened  by  screws. 
These  racks  were  used  in  pairs  linked  by  battens 
that  could  also  support  trays. 

Small  bags  are  very  useful,  particularly  on  a 
pottery  site,  for  the  immediate  reception  of  the 
fragments  of  broken  but  more  or  less  complete 
vases,  as  by  their  use  much  subsequent  work  may 


44  THE  outfit  and  its  use  [ch. 

be  saved,  and  pieces  kept  together  that  by  bad 
luck  might  go  permanently  astray.  For  other 
purposes  I  believe  trays  to  be  better  than  bags, 
for  though  it  may  be  argued  that  there  is  more 
chance  of  a  tray's  losing  its  label  or  its  contents, 
yet  this  danger  with  reasonable  care  is  very  slight, 
and  is  less  than  that  incurred  by  the  bag  when 
the  contents  are  tilted  out  for  study.  Bags  should 
be  of  canvas  with  a  string  round  the  neck,  for 
paper  bags  though  cheaper  are  ephemeral  and 
therefore  unsatisfactory. 

No  excavation  is  properly  fitted  out  without  a 
good  supply  of  squeeze  paper,  the  unsized  paper 
used  for  taking  impressions  of  inscriptions.  This 
I  may  use  as  the  text  of  an  exhortation,  though  it 
is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  give  hints  for  the 
study  of  epigraphy,  even  if  I  were  capable  of 
doing  so,  for  the  decipherment  and  interpretation 
of  inscriptions  is  a  branch  of  archaeology  by  itself, 
and  while  I  do  not  mean  to  condemn  the  epigraphist 
to  be  an  epigraphist  and  nothing  else,  I  do  mean 
that  the  versatile  hero  whom  I  have  sketched  will 
hardly  have  time  for  the  special  study  that  alone 
can  give  the  best  results  in  epigraphy,  though  he 
should,  of  course,  have  a  general  acquaintance 
with  the  subject.  I  would  however  exhort  all 
epigraphists,  budding  and  full  blown  alike,  to  one 
piece  of  most  obvious  common  sense,  namely,  to 
distrust  the  convenience  of  a  copy.  A  copy  is  no 
doubt  necessary  since  neither  the  original  inscrip¬ 
tion  nor  yet,  if  it  is  a  large  one,  a  squeeze  of  it  can 
be  taken  conveniently  into  libraries  for  study  and 
the  collation  of  parallels;  but  whenever  possible, 


IV] 


THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE 


45 


even  at  the  cost  of  some  inconvenience,  the  text 
of  inscriptions  should  be  studied  on  the  stones 
themselves,  for  as  material  for  study,  the  stone 
comes  first,  a  good  squeeze  second,  and  a  copy  a 
bad  third. 

Perhaps  an  apology  is  due  for  these  remarks  to 
a  learned  brotherhood  whose  boots  I  am  not 
worthy  to  black.  I  offer  it,  but  shall  let  the 
sentences  stand. 

Drawing  paper,  pencils,  and  water  colours; 
indian  ink  and  pens,  compasses  and  drawing  pens, 
these  need  no  special  mention:  they  can  be  let 
pass  with  the  remark  that  my  own  experience  is 
that  there  should  be  at  least  one  large  drawing 
board,  and  that  in  the  matter  of  ink  drawings  to 
be  reproduced  by  black  and  white  block  the  most 
paying  thing  for  an  artist  without  pride  is  to  have 
paper  as  good  and  as  thick  as  possible ;  for  much 
to  save  what  appears  irremediable  can  be  done  by 
a  sharp  knife,  with  the  handle  of  a  toothbrush 
kept  handy  to  rub  the  scratched  surface  to  a 
smoothness  on  which  the  ink  will  not  run.  It  is 
often  advisable  to  draw  small  objects  larger  than 
life  size,  partly  for  ease  in  working,  if  the  detail  is 
fine,  and  partly  because  better  results  in  block 
making  are  got  by  a  reduction ;  but  they  should 
never  be  published  larger  than  actual  size,  for  the 
eye  is  not  accustomed  to  imagining  a  thing  smaller 
than  it  appears  and  seldom  manages  the  business 
properly.  The  draughtsman  should  be  careful, 
too,  if  his  work  is  to  be  reduced  for  publication, 
never  to  use  too  fine  a  line  lest  the  block  should 
omit  it. 


46  •  THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE  [CH. 

The  photographic  outfit  must  be  adequate  but 
need  not  be  complex :  it  must  however  include  at 
whatever  cost  of  trouble,  arrangements  for  imme¬ 
diate  development,  which  failing  all  else  can  be 
got  by  making  a  portable  dark  room  part  of  the 
camp  baggage;  no  one  would  dream  to-day  of 
conducting  a  serious  excavation  without  a  com¬ 
petent  photographer  on  the  staff,  but  it  is  perhaps 
still  too  much  the  custom  to  trust  overmuch  to 
the  success  of  his  efforts,  with  the  result  that  when 
he  subsequently  develops  his  plates  it  is  to  find 
that  one  or  more  important  picture  has  failed. 
Plates,  therefore,  must  be  developed  at  once,  and 
until  it  is  known  that  the  picture  is  a  good  one, 
operations  must  be  suspended  to  allow  of  its  being 
taken  again. 

At  the  risk  of  being  wearisome  I  must  repeat 
that  the  camera  must  not  be  made  a  fetish ;  that 
though  often  indispensable  it  is  not  always  enough, 
from  its  fatal  habit  of  seeing  too  much,  so  that  in 
its  pictures  sometimes  the  essential  does  not  stand 
out  clearly  against  the  unessential  background: 
I  must  urge  again  that  whenever  this  seems  likely 
to  happen  the  photograph  should  be  supplemented 
by  a  drawing. 

In  spite  of  their  extra  weight,  and  the  fear  of 
breakage,  plates  should  always  be  used  in  prefer¬ 
ence  to  films,  and  this  not  merely  because  of  their 
lesser  cost.  The  needs  of  an  excavation  are  best 
served  by  a  supply  in  three  speeds,  very  rapid, 
medium,  and  slow,  of  which  the  first  and  last  are 
essential:  the  first  because  photography  on  an 
excavation,  though  it  must  often  wait  for  the 


IV] 


THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE 


47 


right  position  of  the  sun,  cannot  wait  for  the 
subsidence  of  the  wind,  and  in  a  strong  wind  the 
only  hope  of  successful  work  lies  in  a  very  rapid 
plate;  the  last  for  museum  work  away  from  the 
dig  where  the  wind  need  not  enter  into  the 
problem,  in  that  case  a  slow  plate  is  to  be  pre¬ 
ferred,  because  the  slower  the  plate  the  easier  it 
is  to  make  sure  of  good  results,  under-exposure 
being  practically  the  only  danger  to  be  guarded 
against.  For  the  same  reason  I  like  a  medium 
plate  for  use  out  of  doors  when  the  wind  is  less 
violent,  finding  always  that  my  more  certain 
results  are  got  by  using  plates  as  slow  as  circum¬ 
stances  allow.  A  reliable  exposure  meter  is  a 
great  help.  The  lens  or  lenses  used  must  be  very 
good,  and  the  camera  should  have  enough  exten¬ 
sion  to  take  objects  if  necessary  actual  size.  It 
should  also  be  fitted  with  a  tilting  table,  as  this 
will  not  only  be  of  great  use  on  the  excavation  in 
helping  to  get  the  lens  into  the  right  position  for 
looking  into  an  awkward  hole,  but  if  the  light  is 
good  provides  the  best  way  of  photographing 
small  objects,  such  as  jewellery  or  potsherds ;  they 
are  put  on  a  sheet  of  glass  supported  off  the 
ground  by  an  open  wooden  frame  with  legs  about 
a  foot  high  and  as  thin  as  possible  to  avoid 
shadows;  a  background  of  white  paper  is  placed 
below  and  the  camera  is  swung  over  so  as  to  take 
the  picture  directly  from  above;  if  the  light  is 
strong  enough  the  white  background  is  sufficiently 
brilliant  to  swamp  any  reflections  off  the  glass, 
and  the  fact  that  the  background  is  about  a  foot 
below  the  objects,  brings  about  the  disappearance 


48  THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE  [CH. 

of  all  cast  shadows  which  have  a  tendency  to 
obscure  the  outlines.  A  good  negative  so  taken 
can  be  used  for  publication  as  it  stands,  there 
being  no  occasion  for  the  painting  out  of  shadows 
that  is  thought  to  be  essential  but  may  be  more 
damaging  to  the  outlines  than  the  shadows.  It  is 
very  important  with  this  ideal  to  get  rid  of  the 
dust  that  is  sure  to  fall  from  excavated  objects 
when  arranged  for  photography,  and  will  be  as 
good  a  pretext  for  painting  the  negative  as  actual 
shadows;  it  is  often  impossible  to  finish  the  job 
with  a  brush  without  shifting  the  objects  which 
causes  a  renewed  fall  of  dust,  but  a  vulcanite 
fountain  pen  electrified  by  rubbing  is  an  admirable 
means  of  picking  up  the  last  specks. 

This  method  of  photography  however  should 
not  be  used  for  anything  that  can  be  got  to  stand 
in  its  right  position ;  this  may  entail  much  trouble 
but  is  worth  the  trouble,  for  only  so  can  the  really 
natural  lighting  be  got.  This  question  of  natural 
lighting  is  very  important,  and  particularly  so  in 
the  case  of  reliefs,  which  should  never  be  photo¬ 
graphed  upside  down  with  the  chief  light  coming 
from  below,  however  much  the  best  detail  seems 
to  demand  light  from  that  direction;  much  may 
be  done  by  means  of  a  simple  reflector  of  white 
paper,  or  by  flashing  a  mirror,  but  if  the  relief  be 
photographed  upside  down  almost  certainly  the 
picture  seen  right  side  up  will  look  like  an  intaglio. 
As  to  backgrounds  opinions  differ,  but  my  own 
view  is  in  favour  of  white  in  almost  every  case; 
grey  may  be  used  if  the  object  is  so  light  that  it 
is  feared  that  the  outline  in  the  high  light  would 


IV] 


THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE 


49 


not  be  clear  against  white;  black  should  always 
be  avoided,  unless  indeed  the  object  in  Euclid's 
phrase  has  breadth  but  no  thickness,  for  black 
will  take  all  the  value  from  the  shadows  on  the 
objects,  so  that  in  the  picture  they  will  appear 
quite  flat,  all  subtleties  of  form  being  lost. 

For  museum  photography  a  supply  of  plasticine 
is  invaluable  as  it  provides  props  of  any  size  that 
can  often  be  concealed  from  the  camera. 

From  the  popular  point  of  view  to  increase  the 
attractiveness  of  lectures  there  is  much  virtue  in 
the  colour  plates  of  the  Paget  Company,  though 
their  colours  do  not,  I  think,  give  quite  the  same 
sense  of  nature  as  those  obtained  by  a  good 
Lumiere  autochrome,  but  these  are  of  little  use  in 
the  lantern  being  too  dense  and  too  easily  damaged 
by  heat ;  the  scientific  value  of  either  of  the 
methods  as  a  record  of  colour  is  still,  I  think, 
a  little  uncertain  and  only  to  be  relied  on  after 
careful  checking  with  the  originals. 

The  camera  used  need  certainly  not  be  larger 
than  a  half-plate,  my  own  view  is  that  the  quarter- 
plate  size  answers  all  requirements,  as  provided 
that  the  negative  is  truly  sharp,  (no  one  who  is  not 
short-sighted  should  trust  himself  to  work  without 
a  magnifying  focusing  glass),  it  can  always  be 
enlarged  without  damage  to  the  size  required  for 
most  publications.  To  use  a  larger  size  is,  apart 
from  the  extra  trouble,  a  needless  expense.  Ex¬ 
pense  however  in  some  of  the  more  luxurious 
expeditions  appears  to  be  no  object,  no  doubt  a 
highly  laudable  policy  where  any  scientific  object 
is  to  be  gained,  but  in  the  matter  of  photography 

D. 


4 


50  THE  OUTFIT  AND  ITS  USE  [CH.  IV 

one  that  involves  great  waste  to  the  benefit  of  no 
one  but  the  manufacturers  of  photographic  goods. 
I  have  not  seen  it  with  my  eyes  but  I  have  heard 
of  an  excavation  where  a  tomb  is  photographed 
not  only  before  opening  and  after  the  contents 
are  fully  exposed,  both  right  and  proper  moments 
for  photography,  but  at  three  or  four  points  in 
between;  the  same  excavation,  it  is  said,  sees  a 
panorama  of  the  site  taken  once  at  least  every 
day,  that  the  general  rate  of  work  and  gradual 
change  in  the  aspect  may  be  shown,  things  that 
can  have  no  importance  unless  it  is  to  show  the 
supporters  of  the  expedition  that  a  certain  amount 
of  soil  is  moved  every  day  for  their  money.  This 
is  photography  gone  mad,  and  the  only  logical 
outcome  of  it  is  a  cinematograph  operator  at  work 
all  day  and  every  day  at  every  possibly  interesting 
part  of  the  site ;  when  things  reach  this  point  the 
excavator  will  no  doubt  speak  his  notes  into  a 
dictaphone,  and  popular  interest  in  archaeological 
work  will  no  doubt  rise  high  and  may  even  reach 
the  audience  of  the  Picture  Palace. 

The  outfit  for  an  expedition  intended  for  the 
utter  wilds  might  be  extended  indefinitely,  but  a 
relatively  civilized  excavation,  in  a  land  where 
the  services  of  the  local  artisan  are  available,  can 
probably  make  good  any  omissions  from  this  list, 
which  is  already  wearisomely  long. 


CHAPTER  V 


SOME  QUESTIONS  OF  MORALITY 

Excavation  like  any  other  pursuit  has  its  own 
special  morality  and  it  is  possible  to  frame  a  new 
decalogue  for  the  use  of  the  fraternity. 

1.  Knowledge  ascertained  by  proof  is  the  only 
thing  that  really  matters. 

2.  Do  not  introduce  theories  into  your  exca¬ 
vation  work,  more  than  is  absolutelv  necessary. 
If  you  want  to  spend  your  time  pursuing  fasci¬ 
nating  but  elusive  theories,  well  and  good ;  but  let 
it  be  your  leisure  time,  not  that  devoted  to  your 
high  calling. 

3.  Since  knowledge  ascertained  by  proof  is 
the  only  thing  that  matters,  do  not  let  its  name 
be  taken  in  vain  by  allowing  an  unproved  theory 
to  take  its  place  as  a  premiss  in  a  serious  argu¬ 
ment  :  it  is  one  of  the  subtlest  temptations  that 
beset  the  primrose  path  of  theory  spinning  to  use 
a  conclusion  that  to  the  most  sanguine  eye  is  only 
probable  as  an  ostensibly  firm  basis  for  a  further 
edifice  of  speculation. 

4.  Work  very  slowly,  remembering  that  an 
overtaxed  staff  is  an  inefficient  staff. 

5.  Remember  that  if  you  once  attack  a  site 
you  are  bound  to  do  the  best  you  can  by  its 


4—2 


52  SOME  QUESTIONS  OF  MORALITY  [CH. 

potential  store  of  knowledge :  you  must  not 
abandon  it  for  a  caprice,  because  you  are  tired 
of  it. 

6.  Do  not  destroy  any  ancient  remains. 

7.  Do  not  mix  your  labels,  or  allow  confusion 
among  your  finds;  for  evil  so  wrought  has  no 
remedy. 

8.  Do  not  "hog” ;  that  is,  do  not  dig  for 
your  treasure  so  quickly  as  to  risk  missing  half 
its  story. 

9.  Do  not  misrepresent  your  site:  either  by 
neglecting  any  facts  however  apparently  trivial; 
or  by  unconsciously  suppressing  any  facts  because 
they  are  not  the  facts  you  want ;  or  by  softening 
down  their  story  because  it  is  not  the  story  you 
want  to  hear. 

10.  Do  not  grudge  the  world  its  right  to  know 
your  facts  as  soon  as  possible ;  do  not  keep  them 
to  yourself  while  seeking  their  explanation. 

Like  all  codes  however  this  does  not  cover  the 
whole  ground,  and  there  is  more  than  one  point 
in  which  the  excavator’s  right  course  may  be 
questioned.  How  far,  for  instance,  has  he  the 
right  to  destroy  the  remains  of  ancient  buildings? 
His  sixth  commandment  is  express,  yet  there  are 
times  when,  like  homicide,  destruction  is  expedient 
and  right.  In  any  particular  instance  the  answer 
must  depend  on  the  value  of  the  building  which  it 
is  proposed  to  destroy  compared  with  that  of  the 
results  to  be  obtained  by  demolition. 

Common  sense  dictates  that  no  building  should 
be  removed  on  a  mere  speculation  unless  certainly 
valueless;  and  a  valueless  building  I  should  be 


v]  SOME  QUESTIONS  OF  MORALITY  53 

inclined  to  define  as  one  that  has  in  itself  no 
virtues  as  a  specimen  of  the  builder's  art  and  no 
peculiar  features,  that  is  not  associated  with  any 
finds,  and  that  for  this  and  other  reasons  cannot 
be  assigned  to  any  certain  date;  except  in  the 
case  of  such  a  building  destruction  should  not  be 
indulged  in,  unless  it  is  known  by  trials  that 
beneath  the  victim  are  earlier  deposits  that  will 
increase  knowledge.  If  it  is  possible,  as  in  the 
case  of  a  pavement,  the  building  should  be  removed 
with  such  care  that  it  can  be  replaced  afterwards. 
In  no  case  should  anything  be  removed  without 
the  taking  of  complete  details  for  a  plan  and 
section. 

The  difficulty  of  deciding  the  right  course  is 
very  great  in  the  case  of  a  large  building  that  is 
clearly  too  fine  and  of  too  much  interest  to  admit 
of  even  partial  damage,  yet  is  known  to  conceal 
beneath  it  remains  of  greater  value,  and  of  value, 
too,  not  only  in  themselves  but  for  the  light  that 
they  may  shed  on  the  date  and  origin  of  the  later 
edifice.  I  am  sorry  that  I  have  had  no  personal 
experience  of  dealing  with  such  a  building,  certainly 
the  most  difficult  problem  that  could  confront  the 
excavator ;  but  I  cannot  imagine  any  other  method 
of  work  than  that  of  digging  between  the  walls, 
removing  the  floors  when  these  consist  of  slabs 
after  first  planning  and  numbering  the  slabs  or 
their  fragments  with  a  view  to  their  exact  replace¬ 
ment.  The  difficulty,  of  course,  is  more  the  greater 
the  size  and  elaboration  of  the  building,  and  the 
more  absolute  the  necessity  of  not  damaging  what 
is  in  itself  a  valuable  monument ;  the  treatment 


54  SOME  QUESTIONS  OF  MORALITY  [CH. 

however  should  not  differ  in  principle  from  that 
required  by  the  digging  of  a  prehistoric  village, 
where  the  lower  operations  may  often  be  hampered 
by  the  walls  of  the  later  houses,  but  in  such  a  case 
the  paramount  necessity  of  doing  no  damage  to 
the  upper  structure  is  absent. 

In  the  case  of  a  large  building  it  would,  I  think, 
be  wise,  orderly,  and  making  for  good  work  to 
finish  first  with  the  later  building  before  seeking 
what  may  be  below. 

Another  nice  problem  concerns  the  extent  to 
which  restoration  of  such  a  building  may  be 
allowed.  Here  I  think  the  principle  to  be  observed 
is  honesty:  no  such  restorations  should  be  fitted 
as  in  a  few  years  will  merge  indistinguishably  into 
the  old  work,  and  strictly  a  small  date  should  be 
cut  on  every  new  stone  used.  With  this  proviso 
the  case  for  restoration,  where  the  proposed  re¬ 
storation  is  certain,  is  very  strong;  without  con¬ 
sidering  such  cases  as  the  grand  staircase  at 
Knossos,  where  restoration  is  necessary  to  preserve 
parts  of  the  ancient  structure  in  situ ,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  uninformed  imagination  is  helped 
by  it;  the  student’s  expert  knowledge  may  be 
help  enough  for  him,  but  nine  out  of  ten  of  the 
people  who  visit  the  monument  will  lack  that 
particular  aid,  and  for  them  the  place  is  only 
given  a  meaning  by  the  judicious  replacement  in 
some  degree  of  the  portions  now  missing.  The 
only  real  objection  to  rebuilding  the  fallen  columns 
of  the  Parthenon  is  the  aesthetic  one  that  we  like 
the  look  of  it  as  it  is ;  moreover  in  the  case  of  the 
Parthenon  the  argument  for  restoration  is  less 


v]  SOME  QUESTIONS  OF  MORALITY  55 

strong,  for  enough  of  it  is  left  to  guide  the  imagina¬ 
tion  of  anyone. 

To  the  kindred  question  how  far  is  it  justifiable 
to  bamboozle  the  museum  visiting  public  with,  say, 
a  restored  vase,  I  give  the  same  answer;  that  a 
restored  vase  is  a  most  desirable  thing  for  the 
purpose  of  guiding  the  imagination  or  saving  it 
strain  only  so  long  as  the  work  is  not  carried  to 
the  point  of  deception;  the  mischief  however  in 
this  particular  branch  is  that  restoration,  especially 
of  vases,  is  an  art  of  which  deception  is  the  crown, 
which  to  forbid  the  artist  to  strive  after  is  almost 
cruelty.  I  am  reminded  of  an  afternoon  when  I 
listened  to  the  remarks  of  two  ladies  in  the 
Ashmolean,  where  they  have  a  real  artist:  one 
said,  “Now  I  like  that  one.  You  can  see  there 
are  no  joins,  it  must  all  be  real.”  The  ladies  were 
short,  but  I  could  just  see  over  the  lip  of  the 
Cretan  vase  in  question,  and  on  the  inner  surface 
the  network  of  joins  and  the  pieces  replaced  by 
plaster  were  clear  to  me;  I  said  nothing,  but 
meditated  on  morality. 

In  the  case  of  drawings  for  publication  I  am 
inclined  to  draw  the  bounds  of  what  is  permissible 
rather  wider  from  the  confines  of  strict  truth  than 
in  dealing  with  the  actual  object;  the  two  limits 
that  I  would  then  impose  are  that  the  skill  of  the 
restoration  should  be  so  restricted  that  no  doubt 
should  arise  as  to  which  portions  are  or  are  not 
genuine,  and  that  there  should  be  good  ground 
and  warrant  for  the  restored  part ;  in  the  case  of 
the  actual  object  I  would  admit  no  fanciful  restora¬ 
tion.  It  is  this  last  restriction  that  I  think  it 


56  SOME  QUESTIONS  OF  MORALITY  [CH. 

justifiable  to  remit  in  the  case  of  drawings;  their 
object  is  to  rouse  interest  and  they  best  fulfil  it 
when  they  show  not  only  the  present  condition  of 
the  object,  but  what  it  was  like,  or  failing  that 
what  it  was  probably  like,  in  the  past.  A  sacrifice 
to  truth  may  be  made  by  the  simultaneous  publi¬ 
cation  of  a  photograph.  The  reason  for  the 
distinction  is  obvious;  in  the  case  of  a  drawing 
we  are  not  poisoning  the  fountain-head  of  truth, 
but  the  object  remains  untouched  to  be  studied 
by  those  sufficiently  interested.  If  it  is  true  that 
such  study  has  sometimes  led  to  profound  astonish¬ 
ment,  this  astonishment  so  far  from  condemning 
the  illustration  that  caused  it  is  its  real  justifica¬ 
tion.  Take  the  case  of  a  fragment  of  a  Kamares 
vase.  The  fragment  is  too  small  for  the  shape  of 
the  vase  to  be  plain  except  to  a  student  of  Middle 
Minoan  pottery;  the  design  is  in  white,  crimson, 
and  orange-red  on  a  black  ground,  but  time  has 
so  wrought  on  it  that  none  of  the  colours  not  even 
the  dark  ground  have  their  true  value  except,  if 
we  are  lucky,  at  one  point  for  each;  the  white  is 
all  gone  but  for  one  speck,  but  has  preserved  the 
surface  of  the  underlying  black  so  that  the  design 
can  be  seen  by  shifting  the  fragment  to  reflect  the 
light.  What  value  in  such  a  case  would  be 
possessed  by  an  absolutely  accurate  drawing?  It 
would  convey  no  meaning,  even  if  it  could  be 
made,  for  how  can  a  drawing  without  exaggeration 
show  traces  that  can  indeed  be  certainly  seen,  but 
only  by  the  sharpest  trained  eyesight?  In  such 
a  case  the  drawing  should  aim  at  showing  the 
probable  appearance  of  the  complete  vase  when  in 


V]  SOME  QUESTIONS  OF  MORALITY  57 

use ;  the  full  form  will  be  shown,  those  parts  that 
are  restored  being  coloured  fainter  than  the  rest, 
where  the  original  tone  should  be  given  to  the 
colours ;  in  any  place  on  the  existing  portions 
where  the  design  is  not  clear,  there  is  no  excuse 
for  not  indicating  the  doubt,  but  it  is,  I  think, 
legitimate  on  the  restored  part  in  the  case  of 
uncertainty  to  supply  what  is  most  probable. 
In  his  astonishment,  when  confronted  with  the 
original,  the  man  who  has  only  known  the  drawing 
may  think  that  he  has  had  his  leg  pulled.  It  is 
not  so,  for  while  an  absolutely  true  drawing  would 
have  told  him  nothing,  the  restoration  has  made 
him  free  of  the  knowledge  gleaned  from  wide 
study.  His  astonishment  is  the  measure  of  the 
value  of  the  drawing. 


CHAPTER  VI 


PUBLICATION 

The  excavation  is  over,  all  possible  subdivisions 
and  all  necessary  notes,  drawings  and  photographs 
have  been  made ;  over,  too,  is  the  period  of  study 
in  the  museum,  and  what  now  lies  before  the 
excavator  is  the  publication  of  the  results.  Some¬ 
where  the  complete  record  of  the  work  done  should 
be  kept  for  reference  in  case  subsequent  work 
should  reveal  interests  in  the  material  unsuspected 
at  the  time,  but  it  is  not  advisable  to  lay  all  the 
details  open  in  a  publication.  For  my  labour  has 
been  vain  if  I  have  not  made  it  clear  that  to  do 
his  work  properly  the  excavator  must  note  down 
all  possible  observations  whether  their  interest  is 
apparent  at  the  time  or  not ;  many  of  these, 
probably  the  greater  number,  will  in  the  end 
prove  valueless,  and  it  would  be  like  giving  a 
thirsty  man  salt  water  to  drink  to  serve  them  up 
to  a  public  hungry  for  knowledge.  There  is  too 
great  a  tendency  in  modern  archaeological  work 
to  swamp  the  interest  of  the  results  with  a  flood 
of  detailed  evidence,  that  makes  the  dreariest 
reading,  and  often  is  its  own  undoing,  for  only 
those  conclusions  that  reach  the  highest  point  of 
interest  can  survive.  To  take  an  instance :  an 
excavation  of  quite  moderate  extent  might  easily 


CH.  VI] 


PUBLICATION 


59 


embrace  a  hundred  and  fifty  sections  more  or  less 
productive,  each  of  which  might  have  six  or  seven 
vertical  sections ;  at  headquarters  there  should  be 
a  record  of  the  contents  of  these  thousand  sub¬ 
divisions,  but  to  print  page  after  page  of  these 
details  would  be  nauseating.  Few  would  be  found 
to  read  such  a  record,  and  on  them  the  result 
would  be  to  kill  the  interest  that  it  is  desired  to 
provoke.  To  print  a  few  typical  examples  to  show 
the  manner  in  which  evidence  is  presented  would 
be  excellent,  but  to  display  the  whole  is  little 
short  of  indecent.  It  may  be  objected  that  such 
a  thing  has  never  yet  been  done,  but  none  the 
less,  it  is  the  regrettable  modern  tendency  to 
describe  at  ever  greater  and  more  unnecessary 
length  the  individual  bricks  before  proceeding  to 
raise  the  edifice  of  knowledge  gained ;  the  tendency 
is  regrettable  partly  because  it  makes  for  the  belief 
that  one  of  the  most  fascinating  pursuits  belongs 
to  the  category  of  dry  and  mouldy  occupations, 
partly  because  it  raises  the  standard  of  the  cost 
of  archaeological  publications.  If  it  is  objected 
that  without  a  presentation  of  all  his  evidence  a 
man  cannot  expect  to  command  belief,  the  answer 
is,  that  if  he  is  to  be  presumed  to  be  a  liar  he  may 
be  suspected  to  have  manufactured  his  evidence. 
He  must,  it  is  true,  give  a  resume  of  the  evidence 
to  show  that  he  is  not  making  mistakes  in  his 
conclusions;  it  is  not,  for  instance,  enough  for 
him  to  say  that  he  is  sure  pottery  A  is  later  than 
pottery  B,  he  must  also  tell  why  he  thinks  so, 
namely  that  over  a  wide  area  he  has  found  A 
above  B ,  but  there  is  no  need  and  very  good 


6o 


PUBLICATION 


[CH. 


reason  against  his  producing  pages  of  printed 
matter  showing  A  above  B.  The  whole  thing 
comes  down  to  the  advisability  of  concision  in  the 
interests  first  of  the  reader  and  through  him  of 
the  science  of  archaeology.  A  possible  exception 
comes  in  the  case  of  a  cemetery,  for  the  contents 
of  a  tomb  are  one  fact  not  to  be  separated  either 
in  a  museum  or  in  a  publication ;  but  as  nothing 
is  more  dreary  than  a  long  catalogue  of  the 
contents  of  mediocre  tombs,  the  excavator  should 
exercise  a  strict  censorship  over  these  facts  and 
be  very  sure  that  each  is  of  interest  before  he  lets 
it  see  the  light. 

I  believe  that  the  right  method  of  publication 
is  to  give  an  example  or  two  of  the  naked  evidence 
(and  this  in  the  case  of  a  stratified  site  can  perhaps 
be  best  done  diagrammatically  by  means  of  a 
section  across  the  plan) 1,  then  a  clear  account  of 
the  facts  shown  by  the  evidence,  and  lastly  a  state¬ 
ment  of  the  conclusions  founded  on  the  facts,  the 
whole  in  the  fewest  possible  words  compatible  with 
good  English.  Then  the  excavator’s  duty  is  done. 

Should  he  elect  to  supplement  his  facts  by  an 
essay,  or  essays,  embodying  the  parallels  that  he 
can  collect,  or  the  theories  that  he  spins  about 
them,  the  excellence  or  otherwise  of  his  attempts 
will  depend  upon  his  parts;  but  in  any  case  this 
is  an  added  act  of  his  as  a  student  of  archaeology, 
no  part  of  his  duty  as  an  excavator ;  that  duty  is 
to  publish  his  facts  as  quickly  as  is  consistent  with 
thorough  study  that  all  the  world  may  be  at 
liberty  to  spin  theories,  for  the  sooner  new  facts 

1  See  Appendix  C. 


VI] 


PUBLICATION 


6l 


are  presented  for  general  study,  the  better  served 
is  the  cause  of  History.  In  the  past,  facts  have 
often  been  held  up  too  long  that  their  discoverer 
might  himself  publish  with  them  their  explanation. 

So  much,  then,  about  the  final  publication,  but 
what  should  be  the  policy  for  preliminary  reports  ? 
There  are,  I  think,  no  good  grounds  for  any 
deviation  from  the  policy  of  promptitude  and 
brevity,  except  that  in  view  of  the  need  of  stimu¬ 
lating  public  interest  a  certain  amount  of  theory 
and  interpretation  may  be  allowed  with  an  un¬ 
folding  of  the  hopes  aroused  by  the  work  done  to 
date.  But  some  men  will  publish  preliminary 
reports,  yet  will  not  put  into  them  all  that  they 
might.  That  is  promptitude  sacrificed  to  brevity, 
and  it  is  that  same  need  of  keeping  the  public’s 
interest  that  is  the  cause;  for  with  the  necessity 
for  a  full  and  final  publication  before  their  eyes 
they  have  been  tempted  to  refrain  from  making 
known  at  once  their  most  interesting  results  from 
a  fear  lest  the  final  work  should  lose  interest  by 
seeming  mere  repetition.  It  is  a  question  of  pure 
expediency  as  to  when  the  best  effect  can  be 
produced.  Yet  even  from  that  point  of  view  the 
temptation  should,  I  think,  be  resisted,  if  only  on 
the  principle  of  “gather  ye  rosebuds  while  ye 
may,”  and  all  finds  be  allowed  to  come  out  as 
quickly  as  possible;  for  time  in  any  case  may 
wither  their  interest,  while  there  is  always  the 
glorious  chance  that  to-morrow  may  have  treasures 
in  store  so  radiant  as  to  quite  outshine  to-day’s. 
Should  that  happen  there  is  a  pure  loss  of  effect, 
and,  though  in  the  subsequent  triumph  it  may 


62 


PUBLICATION 


[CH.  VI 


not  be  missed,  this  year's  subscriptions  may  have 
suffered.  Thus  even  on  the  low  ground  of  expe¬ 
diency  the  case  is  weak  against  making  preliminary 
reports  as  full  of  matter  as  time  and  the  conditions 
allow.  And  on  any  other  ground  there  is  no  case 
at  all ;  for  the  fear  of  making  mistakes  should  not 
be  a  deterrent :  care  should  of  course  as  always  be 
taken  not  to  permit  surmise  to  wear  the  garb  of 
fact,  but  the  excavator  need  not  pretend  to 
omniscience,  and  the  due  correction  of  mistakes 
later  on  in  the  light  of  fuller  evidence  does  not 
discredit  our  mystery. 


CHAPTER  VII 

EPILOGUE 

By  way  of  epilogue  I  may  perhaps  venture  a 
short  word  on  the  question  much  discussed  in 
certain  quarters,  whether  in  the  work  of  excava¬ 
tion  it  is  a  good  thing  to  have  co-operation  between 
men  and  women.  I  have  no  intention  of  discussing 
whether  or  no  women  possess  the  qualities  best 
suited  for  such  work ;  opinions,  I  believe,  vary  on 
the  point,  but  I  have  never  seen  a  trained  lady 
excavator  at  work,  so  that  my  view  if  expressed 
would  be  valueless.  Of  a  mixed  dig  however  I 
have  seen  something,  and  it  is  an  experiment  that 
I  would  be  reluctant  to  try  again ;  I  would  grant 
if  need  be  that  women  are  admirably  fitted  for 
the  work,  yet  I  would  uphold  that  they  should 
undertake  it  by  themselves. 

My  reasons  are  two-fold  and  chiefly  personal. 
In  the  first  place  there  are  the  proprieties ;  I  have 
never  had  a  very  reverent  care  for  these  abstrac¬ 
tions,  but  I  think  it  is  not  everywhere  sufficiently 
realised  that  the  proprieties  that  have  to  be  con¬ 
sidered  are  not  only  those  that  rule  in  England 
or  America,  but  those  of  the  lands  where  it  is 
proposed  to  dig;  the  view  to  be  considered  is  the 
view  of  the  inhabitants,  Greek,  Turk,  or  Egyptian. 
My  chief  reasons,  I  said,  were  personal,  but  I 
hasten  to  add  that  they  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  particular  ladies  with  whom  I  was  associated ; 
should  these  lines  meet  their  eyes  I  hope  they  will 


64 


EPILOGUE 


[CH.  VII 


believe  me  when  I  say  that  before  and  after  the 
excavation  I  thought  them  charming;  during  it 
however  because  they,  or  we,  were  in  the  wrong 
place  their  charm  was  not  seen.  My  objection 
lies  in  this,  that  the  work  of  an  excavation  on  the 
dig  and  off  it  lays  on  those  who  share  in  it  a  bond 
of  closer  daily  intercourse  than  is  conceivable, 
except  perhaps  in  the  Navy  where  privacy  is  said 
to  be  unobtainable,  except  for  a  captain;  with 
the  right  men  that  is  one  of  the  charms  of  the  life, 
but  between  men  and  women,  except  in  chance 
cases,  I  do  not  believe  that  such  close  and  unavoid¬ 
able  companionship  can  ever  be  other  than  a 
source  of  irritation;  at  any  rate  I  believe  that, 
however  it  may  affect  women,  the  ordinary  male 
at  least  cannot  stand  it.  It  is  true  that  it  might 
also  be  a  source  of  matrimony,  but  as  that  would 
mean  a  temporary  end  to  the  serious  work  of  two 
members  of  the  expedition,  it  can  hardly  be  used 
as  an  argument  for  co-operation.  Marriage  apart, 
and  I  can  imagine  a  man  conducting  a  small 
excavation  very  happily  with  his  wife,  mixed 
digging  I  think  means  loss  of  easiness  in  the 
atmosphere  and  consequent  loss  of  efficiency. 
A  minor,  and  yet  to  my  mind  weighty,  objection 
lies  in  one  particular  form  of  constraint  entailed 
by  the  presence  of  ladies,  it  must  add  to  all  the 
strains  of  an  excavation,  and  they  are  many,  the 
further  strain  of  politeness  and  self-restraint  in 
moments  of  stress,  moments  that  will  occur  on  the 
best  regulated  dig,  when  you  want  to  say  just  what 
you  think  without  translation,  which  before  ladies, 
whatever  their  feelings  about  it,  cannot  be  done. 


APPENDIX  A 


THE  USE  OF  THE  DUMPY  LEVEL 

The  Dumpy  Level  is  a  revolving  telescope  with  an 
attached  spirit  level  set  up  on  a  tripod  and  made  perfectly 
horizontal  by  means  of  screws.  A  board  marked  in 
metres  is  held  vertically  on  the  spot  of  which  the  height 
is  to  be  ascertained,  and  the  reading  is  taken  through 
the  telescope,  the  figure  read  being  that  cut  by  the  hair 
stretched  horizontally  across  the  eyepiece,  which  for  some 
reason  unknown  to  me  has  no  reverser  so  that  the  figures 
are  read  upside  down,  a  trick  however  to  which  the  eye 
soon  becomes  accustomed.  The  figure  thus  obtained  is 
the  difference  in  height  between  the  chosen  spot  and  the 
telescope  in  that  position.  Clearly  before  the  reading  can 
have  any  value  the  height  of  the  telescope  must  be  found 
by  taking  a  reading  with  the  board  placed  on  a  known 
fixed  mark  within  range  of  the  operations,  to  which  mark 
it  is  best  to  give  an  arbitrary  height  of  say  ioo  m.  Then 
a  simple  sum  in  subtraction  is  all  that  is  necessary:  say 
the  reading  on  the  mark  A,  as  in  Fig.  4,  is  3  m.  and  the 
readings  on  the  chosen  spots  C  and  D  are  4  m.  and  4*25  m. 
respectively,  C  and  D  are  1  m.  and  1-25  m.  respectively 
below  A,  and  have  therefore  the  arbitrary  heights  of 
99  m*  and  98*75  m.  This  subtraction  of  the  lower  from 
the  higher  reading  will  always  give  the  difference  in 
height  between  the  mark  and  the  chosen  spot ;  but 
should  the  reading  on  the  mark  show  the  higher  figure 
the  mark  is  in  that  case  of  course  lower  than  the  chosen 
spot,  and  the  difference  must  then  be  added  to,  not  taken 
from,  the  known  height  of  the  mark  to  find  the  height  of 

D. 


5 


66 


APPENDIX  A 


the  chosen  spot.  It  should  be  remembered  that  all  that 
any  one  reading  gives  is  the  vertical  distance  between 
the  bottom  of  the  board  and  the  level  of  the  telescope. 
Should  the  actual  height  of  the  mark  above  sea  level  be 
known  this  may,  of  course,  be  used,  but  whether  this  is 
so  or  not  is  immaterial,  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  relative 
heights  on  the  site  is  equally  well  served  by  an  arbitrary 
figure. 

When  the  operations  move  so  far  as  to  make  it 
possible  to  read  the  board  only  when  placed  on  one  of 
the  two  necessary  positions  either  on  the  mark  or  on  the 
spot  in  question  but  not  on  both,  that  is  to  say  when  the 


Fig.  4.  The  use  of  the  Dumpy  Level. 


vertical  difference  between  the  two  has  become  more  than 
the  length  of  the  board  (and  the  workable  length  of  the 
board  can  hardly  exceed  5  metres)  a  new  mark  must  be 
chosen.  A  hilly  site  indeed  may  need  several.  The 
vertical  distance  between  the  second  mark  and  the  first 
must  be  found,  and  this  is  done  (Fig.  5)  by  setting  up 
the  telescope  so  that  a  reading  can  just  be  taken  on  the 
lowest  figures  at  the  bottom  of  the  board  (reading  1, 
e.g.  0-25  m.),  and  then  moving  the  board  down-hill  till 
its  top  can  just  be  read  with  the  telescope  in  the  same 


APPENDIX  A 


6  7 

position  (reading  2,  e.g.  4*80  m.).  The  subtraction  of  1 
from  2  gives  the  vertical  distance  that  the  board  has 
been  moved  downwards  (4-55  m.).  If  such  a  position 
satisfies  the  requirements  for  the  new  mark  the  work  is 
done.  If  not  the  telescope  must  be  moved  down  till 
again  the  bottom  figures  of  the  board  still  held  in  the  new 
position  come  within  its  scope  (reading  3,  e.g.  o*6om.). 
The  board  is  then  moved  down  again  and  a  fourth  reading 
taken  (reading  4,  e.g.  4-85  m.),  when  the  subtraction  of  3 
from  4  will  give  the  distance  covered  by  this  second 


move  (4*25  m.).  And  so  on.  The  work  must  always 
end  with  the  board  on  the  new  mark,  and  an  addition 
of  the  various  distances  that  the  board  has  been  moved 
gives  the  difference  in  height  between  the  two  marks 
(4-55  m.  +  4-25  m.  =  8*8o  m.,  making  the  height  of  the 
second  mark  in  the  example  91*20  m.).  To  find  a  new 
mark  at  a  higher  level  the  process  is  the  same  but 
reversed. 


5—2 


68 


APPENDIX  A 


For  the  sake  of  accuracy  it  is  a  good  thing  to  work 
out  the  difference  between  two  marks  again  in  the 
opposite  direction. 

All  marks  should  be  inscribed  with  their  heights  when 
possible.  Of  course  whenever  the  telescope  is  set  up 
readings  can  be  taken  on  any  number  of  desired  spots, 
but  the  reading  on  the  mark  must  never  be  forgotten  as 
it  is  this  alone  that  will  correlate  the  readings  of  to-day 
with  those  taken  yesterday  when  the  telescope  was  set 
up  at  a  different  level. 


APPENDIX  B 

The  diagram  shown  in  Fig.  6  is  intended  to  make 
clear  the  measurements  necessary  for  planning  a  rect¬ 
angular  enclosure  within  which  is  a  round  tower,  by  the 
method  of  triangles. 

It  is  clear  that  the  details  may  vary,  and  that  if  there 
are  left  only  foundations  over  which  the  measuring  tape 
can  be  carried  many  measurements  can  be  taken  that 
would  be  impossible  if  the  walls  were  standing. 

The  measurements  necessary  are: 

(a)  If  there  are  only  foundations. 

(1)  For  the  enclosure: 

D — C,  A — D,  A — C  to  fix  the  position  of  A  ;  B — C, 
B — D  to  fix  B  ;  D — E,  C — E  to  fix  E ;  F — C,  F — D  to 
fix  F;  E—H ,  F — H  to  fix  H;  E—G,  F—G  to  fix  G; 
F — X,  F — Y,  B — V,  B — Z  to  fix  the  positions  of  the 
corners  of  the  doorway  XYVZ  on  the  lines  FG,  BC. 
(As  a  check  the  thickness  of  the  walls  can  be  measured 
at  various  points.) 

(2)  For  the  tower: 

H — Q,  H — R,  E — 0,  E — P  to  fix  QROP,  extra  points 
that  should  be  taken  because  the  triangles  ELF,  HIG  are 
too  flat  for  accuracy;  E — K,  H — K  to  fix  K;  0 — L, 


APPENDIX  B 


69 

P—L  to  fix  L;  F—M,  G—M  to  fix  M ;  Q—I,  R—I  to 
fix  I ;  Q — N,  R — N  to  fix  N  (four  points  are  the 
minimum  required  to  pin  down  a  circle) ;  Q — S,  R — 5 
to  fix  5 ;  0—T ,  P—T  to  fix  T ;  S—W,  T—W  to  fix  W  ; 
5 — U,  T — U  to  fix  U. 

(The  method  works  thus:  to  fix  the  position  of  A  a 
start  is  made  by  laying  down  the  line  D — C,  then  two 
circles  are  drawn,  one  with  centre  D  and  radius  D — A, 


CL 


P 


2 


.8 


Fig.  6.  Specimen  Plan  showing  measurements  needed. 


the  other  with  centre  C  and  radius  C — A,  the  whole 
being  drawn  to  scale;  the  point  where  the  circles  cut 
one  another  is  A.  To  find  the  centre  and  describe  the 
complete  circle  after  fixing  the  points  KLMN — the  fourth 
point  is  necessary  but  only  as  a  check — reference  should 
be  made  to  Euclid,  Book  ill,  Prop.  25-) 


70 


APPENDIX  B 


(b)  If  the  walls  are  standing. 

(1)  For  the  outside  of  the  enclosure: 

(An  artificial  base  line  a — 8  must  be  laid  down  and 
two  points  ft,  y  taken  on  it  such  that  a  straight  line  can 
be  drawn  from  A  to  ft  and  from  B  to  y.) 

a — p,  a — y,  a — 8  to  fix  apyS  ;  a — A ,  p — A  to  fix  A  ; 
a — D,  p — D  to  fix  D ;  y — B,  8 — B  to  fix  B;  y — C,  8 — C 
to  fix  C ;  B — V,  B — Z  to  fix  V  and  Z,  the  outside  corners 
of  the  doorway. 

(2)  For  the  inside  of  the  enclosure: 

H — Q  (putting  Q  so  that  it  is  in  a  line  with  I — S), 
H — R,  H — G  to  fix  Q  and  R;  E — H ,  E — Q  to  fix  E; 
F — R,  F—G  to  fix  F;  F—X,  F—Y  to  fix  X  and  Y, 
the  inside  corners  of  the  doorway. 

(To  fit  the  inside  to  the  outside  measure  the  thickness 
of  the  walls.) 

(3)  For  the  tower: 

F — 0,  F — P  to  fix  0  and  P;  0 — L,  P — L  to  fix  L ; 
E — K,  H—K  to  fix  K;  F—M,  G—M  to  fix  M;  Q—I, 
R—I  to  fix  I ;  Q—N,  R—N  to  fix  N ;  Q—S—T  to  fix  T 
(if  Q  has  been  taken  in  a  line  with  I  and  5  the  position 
of  T  can  be  fixed  at  the  point  where  that  line  continued 
meets  the  wall);  T — W,  S—W  to  fixTF;  T — U,  S—U 
to  fix  U. 


APPENDIX  C 

GRAPHIC  PUBLICATION 

This  plan  and  section,  imaginary,  but  founded  on  fact, 
give  a  sketch  of  the  evidence  in  the  domain  of  pottery, 
which  from  its  indestructible  nature  in  general  provides 
the  best  evidence,  that  is  warrant  for  the  following  facts. 
To  the  known  period  that  is  covered  by  the  pottery  a 
belongs  the  house  that  is  built  on  the  rock;  at  this  spot 
there  was  no  earlier  building.  Subsequently,  at  the 
period  covered  by  the  known  pottery  p  the  site  was  still 


APPENDIX  C 


71 


inhabited,  and  traces  of  what  was  perhaps  a  clay  floor 
suggest  that  there  was  a  house  built  on  the  ruins  of  the 
first,  but  if  so  its  walls  have  disappeared.  The  pottery  y 
gives  the  period  at  which  the  upper  comparatively  well 
preserved  house  flourished.  The  local  style  of  ware, 
known  as  such  by  its  overwhelming  quantity  both  in 
painted  and  domestic  pieces  of  identical  clay,  can  be 


Fig.  7.  Plan  and  section  to  illustrate  graphic  publication. 


traced  in  its  development  through  the  three  periods  A, 
B,  C.  It  is  a  piece  of  pure  luck  that  the  imported 
presence  of  the  known  wares  a,  /?,  y  links  this  local  ware 
with  the  outside  world  and  perhaps  supplies  it  with  some 
absolute  dates,  but  their  known  development  only  cor¬ 
roborates  but  is  not  needed  to  establish  the  development 
of  the  series  A,  B,  C  and  its  relation  to  the  houses,  both 


72 


APPENDIX  C 


of  which  are  settled  by  its  own  positions  in  the  strata. 
Incidentally  the  strange  ware  x  is  noted ;  this  is  not  local 
but  is  not  otherwise  known;  it  is  clear  that  it  was 
imported  in  great  quantities  during  the  A  period,  when 
study  shows  that  it  was  also  imitated  in  the  local  clay, 
and  that  the  supply  diminished  during  the  B  period,  and 
was  entirely  cut  off  before  the  C  period  was  reached. 
These  facts  are  of  no  kind  of  interest  at  present  but  may 
prove  of  inestimable  value  if  at  a  future  date  large 
quantities  of  the  x  ware  turn  up  in  surroundings  that 
have  otherwise  nothing  to  date  them. 

This  section  is  also  designed  to  illustrate  a  very  possible 
state  of  affairs  where  the  value  of  minute  subdivision  is 
apparent.  Outside  the  east  wall  there  is  a  steep  depres¬ 
sion  in  the  rock  of  which  the  modern  surface  showed  no 
indication.  This  has  caused  the  strata  of  deposits  to  dip 
in  geological  fashion,  and  though  perhaps  this  might  not 
happen  as  regularly  as  I  have  shown  it  for  the  sake  of 
clearness,  there  might  well  be  enough  dip  to  produce  the 
appearance  of  complete  confusion  if  the  whole  distance 
from  the  wall  to  the  point  B  were  dug  in  one  piece ;  for, 
after  C  pottery  had  been  decently  followed  by  B  and  A , 
more  C  mixed  with  y  would  most  improperly  appear 
followed  closely  by  more  B,  all  coming  at  a  lower  level 
than  the  A  first  found ;  the  inference  from  this  would  be 
that  the  place  had  been  disturbed,  the  only  comfortable 
fact  being  the  quantity  of  A  ware  at  the  bottom  of  all. 
It  is  true  that  a  guess  at  the  true  state  of  things  might 
be  made  when  the  existence  of  the  pocket  in  the  rock 
became  clear,  and  a  lucky  note  that  the  first  A  was  found 
close  to  the  wall  where  the  rock  subsequently  proved  to 
come  higher  might  confirm  the  guess;  my  point  is  that 
the  necessity  for  guessing  should  be  avoided  so  far  as 
possible,  and  that  by  digging  the  space  in  two  divisions 
the  confusion  would  to  a  great  extent  be  obviated,  and 
there  would  be  hope  of  obtaining  two  fairly  reasonable 
sets  of  strata  though  at  different  levels,  which  difference 


APPENDIX  C 


73 


of  level  the  pocket  in  the  rock  would  afterwards  explain. 
If  the  existence  of  the  pocket  could  be  known  beforehand 
the  subdivision  would  of  course  be  made;  unfortunately 
the  contour  of  the  virgin  soil  is  the  last  thing  to  become 
clear,  and  what  I  wish  to  emphasize  is  that  the  only  way 
to  reduce  to  a  minimum  the  confusion  due  to  its  vagaries 
is  to  assume  their  existence  beforehand  and  subdivide. 


APPENDIX  D 

ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  DISHONESTY  AMONG 

WORKMEN 

One  great  difference  between  Greece  and  Egypt  in  the 
conditions  of  excavation  is  the  prevailing  dishonesty 
among  the  Egyptian  workmen.  Stealing  in  Greece  and 
Italy  is  an  evil  rarely  met  with,  in  Egypt  it  is  a  matter 
of  course  against  which  the  excavator  must  guard  himself 
as  best  he  can.  He  is  between  the  devil  and  the  deep 
sea ;  he  may  choose  to  insure  that  he  gets  what  he  finds 
by  paying  the  workmen  the  full  market  value  of  the 
object ;  that  is  a  snare  of  the  devil,  for  so  he  runs  a  good 
risk  of  getting  also  what  he  has  not  found,  as,  from  what 
I  have  seen  of  the  conditions  of  digging  in  Egypt,  particu¬ 
larly  of  tomb  digging,  I  think  it  would  be  very  hard  to 
detect  the  salting  of  the  site  with  objects  genuine  enough 
but  coming  from  other  excavations  where  “ backshish”  is 
not  given.  To  my  mind  the  risk  of  such  salting  is  not 
to  be  borne,  cutting  as  it  does  at  the  root  of  all  scientific 
work;  yet  if  the  more  scientific  course  is  taken  and  the 
excavator  trusts  only  to  ceaseless  surveillance,  though  he 
is  certain  about  what  he  does  get,  he  knows  that  the  deep 
sea  of  Oriental  subtlety  will  swallow  half  of  his  legitimate 
spoil. 


74 


APPENDIX  D 


The  causes  of  this  fundamental  difference  are  not 
obscure.  They  are  to  be  found  not  so  much  in  the 
difference  between  European  and  Oriental  ideas  on  the 
right  methods  of  acquiring  property,  though  the  laxer 
notions  of  the  East  may  be  a  contributory  cause,  as  in 
the  European's  freedom  from  temptation.  In  classical 
lands  the  finding  of  objects  with  a  great  market  value, 
particularly  the  finding  of  gold,  is  very  rare.  Yet  the 
real  freedom  from  temptation  is  provided  by  the  strict 
administration  of  the  laws  against  the  exportation  of 
antiquities1.  The  Greek  law  of  antiquities  for  instance 
is  not  ideal;  it  is  said  to  cause  the  destruction  of  many 
chance  finds  from  the  finder’s  reluctance  to  undergo  the 
quite  unprofitable  trouble  involved  in  declaration ;  but  it 
has  completely  muzzled  the  dealer,  for  the  export  of 
valuable  antiquities  can  only  be  done  in  the  strictest 
secrecy  at  very  great  risk.  The  result  is  that  in  practice 
there  is  no  market  for  a  stolen  “antica” ;  it  is  a  dangerous 
possession,  and  the  means  for  getting  rid  of  it  are  not 
ready  to  hand.  In  Egypt  I  believe  the  matter  is  different. 
When  the  authorities  have  taken  what  they  will  of  the 
finds  the  excavator  can  do  what  he  likes  with  the  rest; 
there  is  no  embargo  on  the  export  of  antiquities;  the 
dealer  is  supreme,  and  the  consequent  ready  market  for 
stolen  goods  makes  the  temptation  irresistible. 

Freedom  of  export  has  been  the  source,  too,  of  another 
evil  to  Egyptian  archaeology.  With  the  power  of  getting 
what  he  found  for  himself  or  his  employers  the  excavator’s 

1  Nevertheless  the  Greek  authorities  might  be  more  generous 
to  excavators  in  the  matter  of  granting  them  duplicates.  The 
notion  at  the  bottom  of  their  policy,  and  it  is  a  true  notion,  of 
course  is  that  the  antiquities  like  the  scenery  are  the  country's 
wealth,  and  a  bait  to  attract  strangers.  But  Crete,  for  instance, 
would  gain  far  more  by  the  advertisement  of  having  representative 
collections  of  Minoan  pottery  in  the  museums  of  Europe  than  she 
will  by  trying  to  insure  that  the  Candia  Museum  remains  unique 
in  every  respect;  it  has  enough  unique  objects  to  insure  its 
importance  for  ever. 


APPENDIX  D 


75 


attention  was  in  the  past  too  often  focused  exclusively 
on  the  objects,  with  neglect  of  the  conditions  of  their 
finding.  Where  there  is  no  power  of  export  and  conse¬ 
quently  no  personal  advantage  to  hope  for  but  knowledge, 
though  he  may  have  found  it  harder  to  get  funds  for  his 
work,  the  excavator’s  attention  has  naturally  been  devoted 
more  to  the  development  of  scientific  digging. 


APPENDIX  E 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL  INFERENCES 

I  have  not  burdened  this  work  with  a  number  of 
instances  of  the  kind  of  reasoning  demanded  of  the 
excavator  for  the  interpretation  of  his  facts,  because 
these  will  generally  find  a  place  in  the  published  results 
and  my  object  has  rather  been  to  explain  what  may  not 


7 

SURFACE  EARTH 

■Slf 

'  //  /n )  in  n  r  pv  n  ///////  i 

7 

1 

I 

a  i 

H 

V  DISTURBED  STRATA^ 

LllVE  OF  VIRGIN'  SOIL 

Fig.  8.  Section  to  show  how  the  date  of  a  building  relative  to  the 
surrounding  deposits  can  be  inferred  from  their  positions. 


find  a  place  there,  namely  the  methods  to  be  used  just 
for  arriving  at  the  facts;  but  I  have  drawn  Fig.  8  to 
illustrate  one  piece  of  reasoning  as  a  sample,  choosing  it 
because  of  its  clearness  and  because  it  would  always  hold 
true.  The  facts  are  that  there  is  a  building  having  its 
foundations  resting  on  virgin  soil  and  surrounded  by  well 
stratified  deposits.  The  two  strata  at  the  bottom  a  and  /3 
are  of  equal  height  on  each  side  of  the  building  but  the 


76 


APPENDIX  E 


uppermost  deposit  y  is  found  to  be  much  thicker  on  one 
side  than  on  the  other.  Moreover  in  the  very  near 
neighbourhood  of  the  building  the  two  lower  deposits  are 
found  to  be  disturbed  but  not  so  the  uppermost  layer. 
The  certain  inference  apart  from  any  other  evidence  is 
that  the  building  was  erected  after  the  deposits  a  and 
had  been  laid  down  but  before  the  deposit  y ;  for  nothing 
but  the  presence  of  the  building  can  account  for  the  much 
greater  thickness  of  y  found  on  the  one  side  of  it,  and 
since  nothing  of  the  kind  is  observable  in  a  and  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  cause  was  absent  at  the 
time  that  they  came  into  being,  while  their  disturbed 
state  is  an  added  proof  that  trenches  for  the  foundations 
were  dug  down  through  them.  I  would  not  say  that  an 
even  level  of  deposits  is  always  sufficient  ground  for 
assuming  that  the  foundations  that  go  through  them  are 
necessarily  later  in  date,  for  it  is  only  probable  that  the 
levels  would  be  affected  in  some  way  by  the  building  if 
it  were  present ;  it  is  certain  however  that  whenever  a 
difference  in  depth  is  observed  between  the  undisturbed 
strata  on  the  two  sides  of  a  building  the  building  was 
there  to  cause  it. 

This  point  will  have  been  recognised  as  having  been 
made  in  connection  with  the  archaic  altar  and  the  later 
temple  at  the  Sanctuary  of  Orthia  at  Sparta1. 

I  remember  another  piece  of  reasoning  on  which  hung 
an  important  question  of  chronology  in  connection  with 
the  excavation  at  Zerelia,  the  first  of  the  prehistoric 
Thessalian  sites  dug  by  Mr  Wace.  Mixed  with  the 
uppermost  layer  of  prehistoric  deposit  and  about  half  a 
metre,  if  my  memory  serves  me,  beneath  the  surface  were 
found  a  few  late  Mycenaean  sherds.  Scattered  on  the 
surface  these  would  of  course  have  told  no  more  than 
that  at  some  subsequent  time  they  had  found  their  way 
there;  it  was  held  however  that,  mixed  as  they  were 
with  the  prehistoric  deposit  and  lying  well  below  the 

1  Dawkins,  B.S.A.  xvi,  pp.  27  and  32. 


APPENDIX  E 


77 


surface,  which  being  that  of  a  mound  was  likely  to  have 
suffered  from  denudation  in  the  course  of  ages  rather 
than  to  have  been  built  up,  they  were  contemporary  with 
the  accompanying  deposits  and  good  evidence  for  the 
final  date  of  the  prehistoric  period  there.  But  I  have 
since  wondered  whether,  being  so  few,  they  were  strong 
enough  to  bear  that  burden,  on  the  principle  that  any 
one  thing  may  have  got  anywhere. 


INDEX 


Acid  (hydrochloric),  use  of,  41,  42 
Aim,  excavator’s  general,  1 
Antiquities,  dealers  in,  74 ;  Egyp¬ 
tian  and  Greek  law  of,  74 
Ashmolean  museum,  55 
Athens,  British  school  at,  32,  43 

Backshish,  73 

Bags,  43 

Baskets,  24,  39 

Breakages,  16,  27 

Brushes,  use  and  dangers  of,  42 

Building  (valueless),  definition  of, 

53 

Buildings,  destruction  of,  52  ff. ; 
restoration  of,  54 

Candia,  museum  of,  74  (note) 
Cements,  41 

Cemetery,  method  of  finding,  23 ; 

publication  of,  60 
Chemistry,  37 

Cleaning  of  objects,  26,  37,  41,  42 
Collectors,  8,  27,  74 
Compass,  prismatic,  39,  40 
Consistency  of  finds,  ix 
Cretan  pottery,  2,  56,  74 
Crete,  31,  74 

Crimes  (archaeological),  1,  2,  5, 
13,  14,  19,  21,  22,  23,  24,  29, 
36,  42,  51  ff. 

“Cyrenaic”  vases,  9 

Day-book,  30 
Dealers  in  antiquities,  74 
Decalogue,  the  digger’s,  51 
Destruction  of  ancient  remains, 
36,  52,  53 

Diagrams,  use  of,  17,  27 
Digging,  essence  of  good,  34 ; 
right  method  of,  1 1 ;  theory 
of,  7 

Draughtsmen,  need  of  supervision, 
37 

Drawing,  36 ;  for  reproduction, 
45 


Drawing-board,  45 
Drawing-paper,  45 
Drawings,  restoration  in,  55  ff. 
Dugas,  Mons.,  9,  11 
Dump,  site  for,  23 
Dumping,  means  for,  23 ;  ob¬ 
jections  to  rapid,  24;  objec¬ 
tions  to  elaborate  system,  25 
Dumpy  level,  11,  39,  40,  65  ff. 

Egypt,  vii,  15,  73,  74 
Epigraphists,  43 

Evenness  in  digging,  importance 

of,  13 

Evidence,  kinds  of  contrasted,  8 
Excavations,  mixed,  63,  64 
Excavator,  his  aim,  1 ;  his  duty  in 
publication,  60 ;  his  ideal,  7 ; 
his  morality,  51 ;  his  philo¬ 
sophy,  26 ;  his  point  of  view, 
danger  to,  25 ;  his  qualifi¬ 
cations,  34  ff. 

Expenses,  possibility  of  reducing, 
36,  37 

Experience,  need  of,  viii 

Finds,  first  aid  to,  25,  37;  im¬ 
portance  of  establishing  posi¬ 
tions  of,  2,  6 ;  method  of 
establishing  positions  of,  1 1 ; 
neglect  of,  1 ;  packing  in 
baskets,  39 ;  potential  import¬ 
ance  of  all,  3 
Floors,  1 1 
Foreman,  35 

Fragile  objects,  help  for,  25 
Frescoes,  30 

Germans,  22 

Greece,  8,  10,  16,  19,  73 
Greeks,  modern,  32 

Haste,  harm  of,  4 
Hillside,  dangers  of,  24 
“Hogging,”  5,  52 
Hours  of  work,  19 


INDEX 


79 


Ideal,  excavator’s,  7 
Imagination,  value  of,  35 
Inferences,  specimens  of,  75 
Inscriptions,  photography  of,  37 ; 
study  of,  43 

Isolated  phenomena,  unimport¬ 
ance  of,  x,  77 

Kamares,  cave  of,  x 
Knife,  use  in  digging,  15 
Knossos,  palace  of,  21,  54 

Labels,  25;  best  kind,  28;  im¬ 
portance  of,  29 ;  safeguarding 
of,  29 

Laconian  V  vases,  28 
Laurium,  39 

Law  of  antiquities,  Egyptian  and 
Greek,  74 

Level,  dumpy,  n,  39,  40,  65  ff. 
Levels,  12;  not  a  final  criterion 
of  date,  13 

Limestone,  means  of  preserving, 
4i 

Maghoula,  32 
Melos,  2 

Militarism,  effect  on  art  at 
Sparta,  10 

Minoan  pottery,  2,  56,  74 
Minoans,  x 
“Minyan”  pottery,  3 
Mistakes,  62 

Mixed  excavations,  objections  to, 

63,  64 

Mycenaean  pottery  at  Zerelia,  76 
Naxos,  32 

Needle,  use  in  cleaning  delicate 
objects,  43 

North,  magnetic,  39;  true,  me¬ 
thod  of  finding,  40 
Notes,  advantages  of  sketches  and 
plans  in,  27 ;  use  of  current 
slang  in,  28 

Observations,  need  of  noting  all, 
58 ;  mistake  of  publishing  all, 
58>  _  59 

Organisation,  need  of,  6,  34 
Orthia,  Sanctuary  of,  18,  34,  76 
Outfit,  39  ff. 

Ox,  use  in  threshing,  32 

Pachys  Ammos,  31 
Paint,  use  of  with  finds,  29 
Paper,  drawing,  45 ;  squeeze,  44 
Paraffin  wax,  26 
Parthenon,  54 


Photography,  backgrounds,  48 ; 
camera,  49 ;  colour  plates,  49 ; 
immediate  development,  46 ; 
in  the  museum,  37;  natural 
lighting,  48 ;  not  always  suf¬ 
ficient,  36,  46  ;  of  inscriptions, 
37  ;  on  the  excavation,  36,  46 ; 
outfit,  46 ;  plasticine,  49 ; 
plates,  46 ;  reflectors,  48  ;  tilt¬ 
ing  table,  47 ;  tombs,  50 ; 
waste  in,  50 
Phylakopi,  2,  3 
Pill-boxes,  43 

Plan-making,  by  triangles,  40,  68  ; 
by  angles,  danger  of  inac¬ 
curacy,  40 

Plans  (rough),  advantage  of  in 
notes,  27 

Plaster  of  Paris,  26 
Potash,  42 

Pottery,  value  as  indications  in 
site-hunting,  31;  value  as  evi¬ 
dence  for  chronology,  70 
Principles,  general,  viii,  6 
Publication,  58  ff. ;  graphic,  70, 
71;  need  of  quick,  5;  pre¬ 
liminary,  61 ;  right  method,  60 
Public  interest,  danger  of  depend¬ 
ing  on,  5,  20 

Rack,  for  trays,  43 
Railways,  dumping,  23 
Rapidity  in  work,  excessive,  4 
Records  (pictorial),  immediate 
need  of,  36 
Repairs  to  objects,  41 
Reports,  desirable  qualities  in,  35 
Restoration,  of  buildings,  54 ;  of 
objects,  55;  in  drawings,  55  ff. 

Seccotine,  41 

Sections,  11,  12;  thickness  allow¬ 
able  in  vertical,  12,  13 
Self-restraint,  34 
Shellac,  41 

Side,  digging  from  the,  wasteful¬ 
ness  of,  15;  digging  from  the, 
wickedness  of,  14 
Sieving  of  earth,  25 
Site  for  dump,  23 
Sites,  choosing  of,  31  ff.;  dis¬ 
covered  by  chance,  31 ;  geo¬ 
logical  nature  of,  6  ;  harm  done 
to,  viii,  1 ;  indications  of,  31 ; 
prehistoric,  32,  33,  76;  prema¬ 
ture  abandonment  of,  2 ;  sub¬ 
division  of,  necessity  for,  1 1 ; 
subdivision  of,  advantage  of, 
27,  72 ;  use  as  quarries,  32 


8o 


INDEX 


Skulls,  measurement  of,  38 
Soil,  importance  of  changes  in, 
17  ;  virgin,  importance  of  reach¬ 
ing,  21 ;  virgin,  importance  of 
contours  of,  7,  72 
Sparta,  10,  18,  31,  34,  76 
Squeeze  paper,  44 
Staff,  need  of  adequate,  in  mu¬ 
seum,  5 ;  need  of  adequate,  on 
the  excavation,  4 
Strata,  effect  of  buildings  on,  ix, 
76;  not  always  provided,  ix 
Stratification,  evidence  from,  8 ; 
importance  of,  ix ;  use  of  paint 
to  distinguish,  29 
Style,  evidence  from,  8 
Subdivision,  necessity  for,  11 
Supervision,  of  excavation,  19; 
of  draughtsmen  and  photo¬ 
graphers,  37 
Surveying,  35,  68 
Sympathies,  need  of  wide,  1 

Tapioca,  use  as  preservative  of 
stone,  41 
Theodolite,  40 
Theories,  when  harmful,  35 
Theory  of  digging,  7;  wrong,  4 
Thessaly,  33,  76 


Threshing  floors,  32 
Tips,  system  of,  16 
Tombs,  publication  of,  60 ;  search 
for,  23 

Tools,  15,  16,  39 
Toothbrush  handle,  use  in  draw¬ 
ing.  45 

Top,  necessity  of  working  from,  14 
“Toutou”  vases,  28 
Toutous,  Georgios,  28 
Trays,  43 

Trenches,  advantages  over  pits,  21 
Trials,  20 ;  wrong  method,  22  j 

Vases,  “Cyrenaic,”  9;  Laconian 
V,  28 ;  Minoan,  2,  56,  74 ; 
“Minyan,”  3 
Vulcanite,  48 

Wace,  A.  J.  B.,  Esq.,  32,  76 
Walls,  old  under  modern,  21 
Wood,  use  of  for  labels,  28 
Wool,  cotton,  43 ;  wood,  43 
Workmen,  carelessness  of,  16,  19; 
dishonesty  of,  73 ;  laziness  of, 
M 

Zerelia,  evidence  for  chronology 
of,  76 


CAMBRIDGE:  PRINTED  BY  JOHN  CLAY,  M.A.  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


CAMBRIDGE  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  AND 
ETHNOLOGICAL  SERIES 

The  Thunderweapon  in  Religion  and  Folklore.  A  study 
in  comparative  archaeology.  By  Chr.  Blinkenberg,  Ph.D. 
Demy  8vo.  With  36  illustrations  and  map.  5s  net. 

The  Heroic  Age.  By  H.  Munro  Chadwick,  Professor  of 

Anglo-Saxon  in  the  University  of  Cambridge.  Demy  8vo.  With 
3  maps.  12s  net. 

The  Origin  of  the  English  Nation.  By  H.  Munro 
Chadwick,  M.A.  Demy  8vo.  With  4  maps.  7s  6d  net. 

Place-Names  of  South-West  Yorkshire.  That  is,  of  so 

much  of  the  West  Riding  as  lies  south  of  the  Aire  from  Keighley 
Onwards.  By  Armitage  Goodall,  M.A.  Demy  8vo.  Revised 
edition.  7s  6d  net. 

Cyzicus.  Being  some  account  of  the  history  and  antiquities  of 
that  city,  and  of  the  district  adjacent  to  it,  with  the  towns  of  Apol- 
lonia  ad  Rhyndacum,  Miletupolis,  Hadvianutherae,  Priapus,  Zeleia, 
etc.  By  F.  W.  Hasluck,  Fellow  of  King’s  College,  Cambridge. 
Demy  8vo.  With  26  illustrations  and  3  maps.  10s  net. 

Ethnology  of  A-Kamba  and  other  East  African  tribes. 

By  C.  W.  Hobley,  C.M.G.,  A.  M.  Inst.  C.  E.  Demy  8vo.  With 
54  illustrations  and  a  map.  7s  6d  net. 

The  Tribes  of  Northern  and  Central  Kordofdn.  By 

H.  A.  MacMichael,  Sudan  Civil  Service,  late  Scholar  of  Magdalene 
College,  Cambridge.  Demy  8vo.  With  19  plates.  10s  6d  net. 

Brands  used  by  the  Chief  Camel-owning  Tribes  of 
Kordofan.  A  supplement  to  the  above.  By  H.  A.  MacMichael. 
Demy  8vo.  With  17  plates.  6s  net. 

The  Place-Names  of  Nottinghamshire.  Their  Origin  and 
development.  By  Heinrich  Mutschmann,  M.A.,  Ph.D.  Demy 
8vo.  7s  6d  net. 

Kindred  and  Clan  in  the  Middle  Ages  and  After.  A  Study  in 
the  Sociology  of  the  Teutonic  Races.  By  Bertha  S.  Phillpotts. 
Demy  8vo.  10s  6d  net. 

The  Place  Names  of  Sussex.  By  R.  G.  Roberts,  M.A. 
Demy  8vo.  10s  net. 

The  Northern  Bantu.  An  account  of  some  Central  African 
Tribes  of  the  Uganda  Protectorate.  By  the  Rev.  J ohn  Roscoe,  M.A. 
Demy  8vo.  With  23  plates  and  a  map.  12s  6d  net. 

The  Veddas.  By  C.  G.  Seligmann,  M.D.,  and  Brenda  Z. 

Seligmann.  With  a  chapter  by  C.  S.  Myers,  M.D.,  D.Sc.,  and  an 
appendix  by  A.  Mendis  Gunasekara,  Mudaliar.  Demy  8vo. 
With  72  plates,  15  text  figures,  and  map.  15s  net. 

Kindred  Organisations  and  Group  Marriage  in  Australia. 

By  Northcote  W.  Thomas,  M.A.  Demy  8vo.  With  3  maps. 
6s  net. 

Prehistoric  Thessaly,  Being  some  account  of  recent  excava¬ 
tions  and  explorations  in  North-Eastern  Greece  from  Lake  Kopais 
to  the  Borders  of  Macedonia.  By  A.  J.  B.  Wace,  M.A.,  and 
M.  S.  Thompson,  B.A.  Demy  4to.  With  a  map,  6  coloured 
plates  and  151  figures.  18s  net. 


1 


[P.  T.  O. 


A  SELECTION  FROM  THE  GENERAL  CATALOGUE 

OF  BOOKS  PUBLISHED  BY 
THE  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

Scythians  and  Greeks.  A  Survey  of  Ancient  History  and 
Archaeology  on  the  North  Coast  of  the  Euxine  from  the  Danube 
to  the  Caucasus.  By  Ellis  H.  Minns,  M.A.  Royal  4to.  Buck¬ 
ram,  gilt  top.  With  9  coin  plates,  9  maps  and  plans,  and  355 
illustrations  in  the  text.  £3  3s  net. 

Catalogue  of  the  Acropolis  Museum.  By  Guy  Dickins, 

M.A.  Volume  I.  Archaic  Sculpture.  Crown  8vo.  10s  6d  net. 
The  Types  of  Greek  Coins.  An  Archaeological  Essay.  By 
Percy  Gardner,  Litt.D.,  F.S.A.  With  16  autotype  plates.  Impl. 
4to.  Cloth  extra,  £1  11s  6d;  Roxburgh  (Morocco  back),  £2  2s. 

An  introduction  to  Greek  Epigraphy.  Part  I.  The 
Archaic  Inscriptions  and  the  Greek  Alphabet.  Edited  by  E.  S. 
Roberts,  M.A.  With  illustrations.  Demy  8vo.  [ Out  of  print 

Part  II.  The  Inscriptions  of  Attica.  Edited  by  E.  S.  Roberts, 
M.A.,  and  E.  A.  Gardner,  M.A.  Demy  8vo.  21s. 

Greek  Sculpture  and  Modern  Art.  Two  lectures  delivered 
to  the  students  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  London.  By  Sir  Charles 
Waldstein,  Litt.D.  With  an  appendix.  DemySvo.  With  78  plates. 

7s  6d  net. 

Greek  and  Roman  Methods  of  Painting.  Some  comments 

on  the  statements  made  by  Pliny  and  Vitruvius  about  Wall  and 
Panel  painting.  By  A.  P.  Laurie,  D.Sc.  Crown  8vo.  2s  6d  net. 

The  Early  Age  of  Greece.  By  William  Ridgeway,  Sc.D., 
F.B.A.  With  numerous  illustrations.  Demy  8vo.  In  two  vol¬ 
umes:  Vol.  I.  21s.  [New  edition  In  the  press 

[Vol.  II  In  the  press 

Essays  and  Studies  presented  to  William  Ridgeway, 

Sc.D.,  LL.D.,  Litt.D.,  F.B.A.,  on  his  Sixtieth  Birthday,  6  August, 
1913.  Edited  by  E.  C.  Quiggin,  M.A.  Royal  8vo.  With  photo¬ 
gravure  portrait,  17  plates  and  71  other  illustrations.  25s  net. 

Christian  Epigraphy.  An  Elementary  Treatise.  With  a 
collection  of  Ancient  Christian  Inscriptions  mainly  of  Roman 
Origin.  By  Orazio  Marucchi.  Translated  by  J.  Armine  Willis. 
Pott  8vo.  With  30  plates.  7s  6d  net. 

The  Mummy:  Chapters  on  Egyptian  Funereal  Archae¬ 
ology.  By  E.  A.  Wallis  Budge,  Litt.D.,  F.S.A.  Demy  8vo. 
With  eighty-eight  illustrations.  12s  6d. 

A  Bibliographical  List  Descriptive  of  Romano-British 
Architectural  Remains  in  Great  Britain.  By  Arthur  H.  Lyell, 
M.A.,  F.S.A.  Demy  8vo.  7s  6d  net. 

Byways  in  British  Archaeology.  By  Walter  Johnson, 

F. G.S.  Demy  8vo.  With  99  illustrations.  10s  6d  net. 

The  Care  of  Ancient  Monuments.  An  Account  of  the 
Legislative  and  other  Measures  adopted  in  European  Countries  for 
protecting  Ancient  Monuments  and  Objects  and  Scenes  of  Natural 
Beauty,  and  for  Preserving  the  Aspect  of  Historical  Cities.  By 

G.  Baldwin  Brown,  M.A.  Demy  8vo.  7s  6d  net. 

The  Preservation  of  Antiquities.  A  Handbook  for  Curators. 
Translated  from  the  German  of  Dr  Friedrich  Rathgen,  by  George 
A.  Auden,  M.A.,  M.D.)  Cantab),  and  Harold  A.  Auden,  D.Sc. 
With  48  illustrations.  Crown  8vo.  4s  6d  net. 

Cambridge  University  Press 

C.  F.  Clay,  Manager:  Fetter  Lane,  London 


2 


